Summary:
Luffy and Buggy find Galdin and together they continue to fight their way through level 2 of the Impel Down, chased by both Manticores and Puzzle Scorpions. They are driven into the lair of a huge beast, the Sphinx, who scares away the other animals. The sphinx is a large and powerful creature that, bizarrely, can only speak by saying types of noodles, ‘ra-men’, ‘wonton-men’, etc. Galdino attempts to distract the creature by creating wax copies of himself, but fails. provoking the creature to destroy the floor below them. With a final shout of ‘go-men’ (sorry) Luffy, Galdino, Buggy and Sphinx all dropped to level 3.
Jinbe in Warlord of the Sea Prison Jinbe explains to Ace why he tried to free him and his debt to Whitebeard. In a nearby cell, Crocodile mockingly declares that Whitebeard’s time is coming to an end as many people will try to usurp him. The prisoners in the surrounding cells echo his sentiments.
Some level 6 Impel Down guards talk about how surprisingly quiet it is. One of them says that the people trapped there are legendary monsters that have a bounty exceeding 100 million. The Guardian explains more about Level 6: Eternal Hell, how the only way people leave this floor is if they are sentenced to death. Another guard says that dying is better for the prisoners than being locked up. The guards are then informed that Warden, Assistant Warden and Sea Warrior Boa Hancock will soon arrive. The guards are confused as to why Hancock would want to visit “Fire Fist” Ace as he is now the most dangerous prisoner in the entire world. One guard then remembers another warrior causing a ruckus at Marine HQ, and the warrior is put in the same cell as Ace. The Warlord is revealed to be Jinbe and Jinbe says that he cannot accept death. Jinbe says he doesn’t care if he loses his sea warrior title, but he just wants to prevent a war. The level 6 guards have just received word that a basilisk has damaged the surveillance room and are shocked to hear that the intruders have defeated it. They want to know what’s going on at Level 2.
In Level 2, Luffy, Buggy, and Galdino are seen running away from several wild beasts from Hell. Luffy says they don’t have time to run, while Buggy says they have to or they’ll fall prey to the monster. Luffy, Buggy, and Galdino attack the monsters at the same time, but Luffy hits Puzzle Scorpion, which splits into smaller creatures. The monsters continue to chase them, but they end up losing Luffy and the others. Monsters and Puzzle Scorpions suddenly stop running and hear stomping and run in that direction. Luffy, Buggy, and Galdino emerge from cover from above as Buggy is revealed to have separated his legs, causing the monsters to flee. However, Buggy blows their cover and the monsters soon start chasing them again. Buggy then says that he heard that the level 2 boss is a large lion-like creature. Luffy thinks they are lion monsters chasing them, but Galdino explains that they are Manticores and will be in trouble if they catch them. The Manticores suddenly start imitating human voices and Galdino tells Luffy and Buggy to ignore them as they are just randomly repeating what the prisoners were saying; they don’t really know what it means. Some of the Manticores start saying weird things like “loin cloth” and “strawberry panties”, which scares Buggy (confused by their stupidity) who asks who they were listening to here. Luffy then asks Galdino how they can get further down and Galdino is surprised to hear that Luffy isn’t trying to escape. Buggy then tells Galdino that Luffy intends to save his brother Ace, and Galdino is shocked to hear that Luffy and Ace are related. Wanting no part, Galdino tries to escape but is caught by Luffy, who asks where the stairs are. Galdino then remembers that the stairs leading to level 1 also lead down to level 3 and intends to use Luffy to distract the beast so he can escape to level 1. Galdino agrees to help and the group heads down the stairs . Galdino eventually encounters a large monster, and it turns out to be a level 2 guardian: the Sphinx. The other monsters run away and the Sphinx suddenly starts attacking Luffy’s group. Buggy and Galdino suddenly form a secret “Escape Alliance” and plan to use Luffy as bait.
Luffy notices Buggy and Galdino doing something, but Sphinx continues to attack Luffy. Luffy dodges the attack and uses the Gomu Gomu no Bazooka to knock down the Sphinx. However, this only upsets the Sphinx and Luffy grabs the Sphinx’s hair while Buggy runs to higher ground. The Sphinx then attacks Galdin, but manages to escape by creating a wax figure. Galdino rejoices in her Sphinx powers and creates more wax figures of herself. The Sphinx then starts attacking the wrong ones and Luffy plays with the Sphinx hitting the wrong ones. Buggy and Galdino are both surprised to see Luffy playing with the Sphinx while the other prisoners worry. Crushing the Sphinx causes more trouble on Level 2, and Buggy and Galdino attempt to escape. However, the Sphinx crushes the floor too much and a large hole opens up, sending her, Luffy, Buggy, and Galdino crashing down to Level 3.
Back at level 6, Jinbe says how the world government calls him a “pirate hating pirate” to Ace’s surprise. Jinbe says that he spent a lot of time on Whitebeard’s ship and admits that he likes the people. Ace remembers how Jinbe tried to kill him, but Jinbe replied that Ace tried to kill him. Jinbe then says that he wanted to help Whitebeard because Fish-Man Island is peaceful because of him. Jinbe remembers the Great Pirate Era, when many human pirates invaded Fish-Man Island and were too many for him to hold back. Jinbe says that many Fishmen and mermaids were captured and sold, but then Whitebeard appeared and said that the island now belonged to him. Jinbe says that he will never forget how Whitebeard protected Fish-Man Island with that. Ace tells Jinbe to stop because he’s being too hard on himself, but Jinbe says he hasn’t given up hope. Suddenly, someone from a nearby cell says it’s the perfect time to take down Whitebeard. Suddenly, the other level 6 prisoners start saying that Whitebeard is going to die and they want to kill him. Crocodile goes on to say how many people will hold back their tears if they don’t get a chance to kill Roger or Whitebeard. Meanwhile, Luffy, Buggy, Galdino and Sphinx are still down to level 3.