One Piece, Volume 53

Chapter 513
The Straw Hat Pirates wonder where Zoro disappeared to, after Kuma touched him with his paw. Chopper runs wild in Monster Point, trying to hurt Sentomaru. Rayleigh is still dueling Kizaru, while Nami reflects on Kuma's ability, which she had seen at Thriller Bark when he made Perona mysteriously vanish.

Luffy asks Sentomaru where Zoro could have gone, and Sentomaru says that anyone that gets touched by Kuma's paws would fly for three days and three nights and the destination would only be known by Kuma.

An outraged Sanji gets ready to battle Kuma, while PX-1 tries to attack Usopp from behind, using a beam attack. Kuma uses his Devil Fruit ability to send PX-1 away, enraging Sentomaru. Luffy then orders the crew to run away as far as possible. As Sanji, Usopp, and Brook try to escape, Kuma descends on them, prepared to attack. Brook sacrifices himself, making a bone joke as he disappears. Sanji is filled with despair as he begins to lose his crewmates. He tells Usopp to run and lands a kick on Kuma, only to be deflected into a pile of rubble. Usopp attempts to hold Kuma back, only to be sent away. An enraged Sanji runs at Kuma, who finally sends Sanji off as well.

A despaired Luffy looks on in shock. Rayleigh is still dueling Kizaru, holding off the Marine Admiral. Kuma then approaches Rayleigh and whispers something to him. When Kizaru asks what Kuma said to Rayleigh, Kuma simply replies with that he will not answer Kizaru's questions.

Luffy activates Gear 2 as Kuma teleports to where Franky and Nami are. Franky tries to attack Kuma with a "Strong Right", but it has no effect. An enraged Luffy tries a "Jet Pistol", only to be blocked by Kuma's paws. Kuma descends on Franky and sends him away using his Devil Fruit ability. Luffy slowly succumbs to defeat, as Nami is also sent away by Kuma.

With only Robin and a Monster Chopper left, Luffy desperately lunges at Kuma. However, Kuma simply teleports again, to Robin and Chopper. Luffy starts begging Kuma to stop sending his crewmates away but Kuma still sends Chopper away. Robin attempts to run; however, she also gets sent away by Kuma.

Luffy, filled with despair and rage, falls to the ground, angry and crying that he could not even save a single friend. Kuma simply responds by saying that he will not be seeing Luffy again and ultimately sends Luffy flying, resulting in the utter defeat of the Straw Hats.

Chapter 514
On Sabaody Archipelago, Duval and his Rosy Life Riders guard the Thousand Sunny waiting for the coating mechanic in Grove 41. Back at the Human Auctioning House on Grove 1, Saint Shalria displays great anger over the pirates who hurt her father and brother and allowing the slaves to be freed as well as the incompetent Marines who were unable to stop them. In grove 13, at Shakky's Rip-off Bar, a worried Camie stresses over the safety of Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates despite the reassurance of Pappag and Hatchan. Shakky then comments on how the age is beginning to move.

Meanwhile, Luffy is seen flying above the ocean cursing at Bartholomew Kuma and wondering where his entire crew disappeared to. He then shouts out the names of his friends, surprisingly in their order of recruitment starting with Zoro and ending with Brook. Frustrated, he realizes that if he falls into the ocean he will die. We see Luffy again sleeping with a snooze bubble coming from his nose. As he lands onto an island, a bear paw crater is formed around him, causing him to wake up in a jungle environment.

Dazed and confused a giant boar approaches him however Luffy does not realize its presence yet. Luffy then remembers the Vivre Card he received from Silvers Rayleigh, happily realizing that he will be able to join up with his friends if he uses it to go back to Rayleigh. Luffy begins to run in the direction that the Vivre Card was pointing with the giant boar chasing him in hopes of eating him. Due to Luffy's oblivious nature he does not realize the boar is chasing him nor does he see the wall blocking his path because he is too focused on saving his friends and a flashback of when Nami got teleported races through his mind. Luffy uses his Gear 3 arm to smash the obstacle out of his way and surprises the giant boar. Having used the last of his strength he becomes very hungry and falls over and then finally realizes the boar standing there. We see smoke rising from the tree tops as Luffy's belly has become large from eating the giant boar. He spots a laughing shroom and decides to eat it and then immediately  begins to howl with laughter. Inevitably he notices more shrooms and eats a lot of them with his mood changing after each one. Comically it shows the boar skeleton with "...." in its speech bubble even though it is dead.

Some time passes and we are introduced to 3 new characters, inhabitants of the island. As one of them calls for Marguerite, we see a mushroom covered Luffy lying unconscious on the ground. Luckily they noticed a half-eaten mushroom nearby and they conclude that the mushroom he ate caused this to happen and take immediate action to save Luffy's life. As the ladies remove the mushrooms one by one, they notice the stubs are still intact so they decide to burn them off. Waking up only to notice he was burning Luffy starts to jump and panics however he quickly falls unconscious again. They then take Luffy to be washed in the river. During the wash however, they notice one mushroom in between Luffy's legs was overlooked. Due to their naïveté towards men as no men have been shown on the island yet they do not know that the mushroom they are pulling is actually his genitals. As a group begins gathering to watch they comment on how flat chested the "girl" was. An old lady introduced as Elder Nyon asks what the commotion is and realizes that the girl they think they are washing is actually a man. Everyone is shocked and an embarrassed and flustered Marguerite says that its her first time seeing a man. As the island goes into an uproar we learn that the island Luffy has landed on is called Amazon Lily a female-only tribe and that it is a place you should not set your foot on if you value your life!

Chapter 515
The narrator explains that the name of this island country is Amazon Lily (it is the place Kuma sent Luffy to), with the entire population being women. It is a place where men are forbidden. The narrator further explains that when some venture out to sea to conceive offspring, they return to bear their children, but oddly enough, they are always born female. It is then revealed that in a large mountain with an arch-like monolith shaped like a heart, there is a large hole with a village inside. The narrator then says that the village and the country itself are built like a large fortress. The narrator reveals that all the work and all of the manual labor is done by the women, who are raised as warriors from birth and are strong and hearty, but also have an elegance and an air about them. A man driven to foolishness by greed has no place there. More than anything else, the women of this country are strong. In this country, strength is beauty. If a man ever approached this country, he would simply disappear.

At the prison, many of the women are gathering to see Luffy wake up (who is completely naked). As Luffy wakes up and stretches, the women are shocked and astonished by his physical appearance, as his chest is flat, has unkept hair, and considered him to be weak due to being so thin. They also comment on how he was eating while sleeping. Luffy, slightly drowsy after waking up, says that it's noisy, shocking the women even more after hearing him speak. He then wonders where he is and what he was doing, but then finally recounts what happened back in the Sabaody Archipelago and up until he ate the mushroom. Luffy scratches his head, but immediately realizes that his hat is gone, and wonders where it is. He realizes that Sweetpea has it, and uses his rubber powers to stretch to get it back. The women are, again, astonished by seeing Luffy's arm stretch, and one of them writes into a notebook concluding that all men are able to stretch their arms like Luffy. She then asks what the young pirate's name is, which he reveals to be Luffy.

Luffy looks down below to realize that he's naked, which the women point out how he's so slow. The girl with the notebook then writes again, concluding that men are dull and cover their heads before their whole bodies. A curious Marguerite tells Luffy that before he gets dressed, she asks what the bag between his legs is (referring to his scrotum and testicles). Luffy is perplexed by the women's naiveté because they should know about this stuff, and he refers to them as "weird" and "his balls". Marguerite is confused and asks what he means by "balls". Luffy asks if it's obvious and claims that they're "balls made of gold" (he's using slang for testicles to point out their importance to him). The women actually believe that they are literally made of gold, and one says that they're gorgeous. Marguerite naively asks Luffy if he could take them out to show them, but Luffy, horrified and shocked at their idea, refuses for obvious reasons and asks if they're trying to kill him. Kikyo tries to finish Luffy off with some arrows, but he escapes by breaking through the ceiling of his prison. He avoids getting recaptured by the Kuja and he takes Marguerite with him so he can ask her some questions. The two of them escape into the jungle. Luffy gets his Vivre Card back from her and learns more about the island and how the empress is a renowned pirate. Meanwhile, Kikyo and the rest of the Kuja try to track Luffy down as fast as possible because the snake princess has returned.

Chapter 516
Out in the Amazon Lily jungle, Luffy has his clothes altered by Marguerite, whom he thanks before running off to meet up with his crewmates. As he runs, he realizes he needs a boat to get back to the Sabaody Archipelago but is shocked to realize there are no boats on Amazon Lily, learning that the island is in the Calm Belt and is surrounded by Sea Kings. Only the Pirate Empress herself has a ship on the island. Marguerite explains that the reason why only the Pirate Empress can leave the island and Calm Belt safely is because her boat is pulled by two giant venomous sea snakes called Yuda, which even Sea Kings never dare attack, knowing how it will end for them. Luffy opts to a raft but is quickly forced to abandon the idea due to his inability to design a good one.

As he lies down and talks to Marguerite, the amazon lady quickly gets up and aims for his head with her arrow, intending to kill him but misses as he avoids her weapon. Several more arrows are aimed at Luffy, who recalls their intense strength despite appearing to be ordinary, something Marguerite notes to be natural when imbued with Haki. As more women arrive to attack Luffy, one of them notes that it is imperative that they eliminate him as Boa Hancock has returned.

Out on the seas, a Marine ship anchors in order to meet with an amazon ship, having been forbidden by the World Government treaties from getting too close. Having had to kill even a Sea King, Vice-Admiral Momonga asks to meet Boa Hancock, Pirate Empress of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. However, he is told by Hancock's pirate crew that she will not meet with him, forcing him to remind her that she agreed to attend an assembly of the Warlords regarding the execution of Portgas D. Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Upon hearing that her Warlord status will be revoked if she does not heed the call, Hancock appears in person, stating that she lied before but still does not want to lose her status, in addition to asking for all the cargo on the Marines' ship. Hearing this, the men on the ship try to hand over their possessions, before a furious Momonga stops them, telling Hancock that it is in a week and Whitebeard is sure to make a move in that time.

Told that the three Marine Admirals will be leading all the forces against Whitebeard, Hancock is asked once again to either answer the call or have her Warlord status revoked. Hancock reiterates that she does not want her status revoked but that she will not answer the call, instead suggesting that all the Marines be turned to stone. As the men recall fearful stories of the Kuja Pirates, Momonga berates her selfishness, but the amazons retort that no matter what Hancock does, she will be forgiven because she is beautiful. As everyone nearby fawns over her, Hancock aims a technique at the Marine ship, transforming everyone upon it into stone statues. Upon inspecting it, she notes Momonga to be the only survivor, having stabbed his hand in order to eliminate his other feelings. As the amazons return to their island, Momonga tells Hancock that he will wait for two days and if she does not return, the treaty will be voided, but Hancock shows no concern over this.

Chapter 517
As Hancock's ship returns to Amazon Lily, the gates are opened and the pirate empress is welcomed back. The loot obtained is inventoried and sorted while Ran hands a newspaper to Elder Nyon upon her request. In the palace, Hancock views a clay sculpture of herself and breaks it, considering it ugly. Calling over Enishida, Hancock asks where the guards went, to which she explains that a dangerous "monkey" was spotted and they went to eliminate it. As Hancock gets ready to relax, Elder Nyon appears before her.

Knowing that the World Government sent a ship to call for her, Nyon asks that she heed their call. Hancock attempts to play cute but Nyon insists that she go to keep the island safe, having lost the Calm Belt as protection from the government and their only current defense being her status as a Warlord of the Sea. Telling her that the elderly and the children will die if the Kuja Pirates are arrested, Hancock writes off Nyon as scared, though she denies this. As orders that she be thrown out are issued, Hancock refers to her as the former former empress who betrayed them and throws her out of the palace personally.

The large bell on the island then rings, signaling that the time for Hancock's bath has begun. The palace is evacuated and the streets fill with everyone from inside as going inside is not allowed. A young girl asks Ran why nobody is allowed inside when Hancock is taking a bath, to which Ran explains that Hancock and her two sisters once defeated a gorgon but were cursed as a result and so anyone who looked at their backs would be turned to stone. For everyone's safety, the gorgon was beaten but Hancock took the curse for it, for which the young girl compliments her.

Meanwhile, the guards continue to pursue Luffy through the forest but the young pirate makes his way out and up to the walls. Looking for a ship, Luffy decides to ask an important person for one and, believing that important people would live in a large building, decides to enter the palace. Landing on the roof, Luffy accidentally crashes through and lands in water. Initially believing that he is drowning, he simply stands up upon noticing that it is shallow and realizes that he is in a bathhouse. A completely naked Hancock, notices and realizes that it is a man. Seeing Hancock from behind, Luffy acknowledges seeing something on her back, greatly angering her.

Chapter 518
Marigold and Sandersonia rush into the palace, asking their sister Hancock what is going on. They then notice Luffy and become confused as to why a man is on Amazon Lily. While Luffy attempts to clear things up, Hancock tells her sisters that he saw her back, shocking them. Marigold and Sandersonia then prepare to put Luffy to death, and Luffy asks why seeing Hancock's back was such a large crime, although he vaguely remembers seeing the thing on her back before.

Hancock tells him that the thing on her and her sisters' backs must never be seen, and attempts to kill a confused Luffy with a Mero Mero Mellow beam. However, Luffy mistakes the beam for a Noro Noro Beam, when he and Hancock both realize that the attack has not done what either of them expected. Hancock uses the move again, and Luffy braces himself for it, only to get the same result. Luffy stares at the Gorgon Sisters in confusion, and they stare back at him in the exact same way. Hancock and her sisters are at a loss as to why Luffy has not been turned to stone, even though he saw Hancock in the bath. Marigold attributes the anomaly to Luffy's fear of death overpowering his lust, and Luffy, though still confused, runs away in fear, still trying to look for someone important. He breaks through the palace wall and jumps out, much to Marigold and Sandersonia's shock, but Hancock, intent on not letting Luffy escape, shoots him with Pistol Kiss, sending him crashing to the ground. She then orders the still-shocked Kuja Pirates outside to capture Luffy.

Later, Luffy has been tied up using snakes and placed in an arena before the Gorgon Sisters and the entire Kuja Pirates. Luffy wonders why there is not a single man in this country, and Hancock asks him how and why he came to Amazon Lily. Luffy states that he doesn't know, which Hancock immediately dismisses, and Luffy then attempts to clear things up by stating that all he wants is a boat to leave the island. His blunt manner of addressing Hancock shocks the Kuja Pirates, and Hancock sentences him to death. Suddenly, Marguerite speaks up, saying that she believed Luffy was speaking the truth, and revealed that she originally brought him into the country, shocking the other Kuja. Sweet Pea and Aphelandra back her up, stating that they thought Luffy was one of their warriors at first due to him being covered in mushrooms, and share the blame for bringing him into the country.

Hancock then descends into the arena, and tells Marguerite to lift her head up. She then uses Mero Mero Mellow to turn Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra into stone. Luffy is confused and shocked to see the three become stone, while the other Kuja mourn their comrades' fate. Luffy angrily asks Hancock what she did to them, and Hancock orders Bacura to be brought out. She then sentences Luffy to die fighting against Bacura, who has served as her executioner for many years, and has not left even his victim's bones remaining. The snakes wrapped around Luffy unbind him, and the Kuja cheer on Bacura.

Chapter 519
Boa Marigold and Boa Sandersonia activate their respective fruits, the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: King Cobra and Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Anaconda, and the spectators fawn over their new forms, believing them to have come from obtaining the Gorgon's power, which confuses Luffy. Hancock and the spectators encourage the two sisters to execute Luffy, who is currently busy moving the petrified Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra out of harm's way. His actions confuse Sandersonia and the spectators, and then he hops up to prepare to defeat the sisters. The spectators laugh at such an expectation, and Marigold warns Luffy that if he falls into the space between the arena and the stands, he will be impaled by the rows of spikes at the bottom.

The execution then begins, and Luffy is forced to dodge rapid strikes from Marigold's halberd, as well as her venomous spit. He attempts to kick her, but is repelled by the palm of her hand before being struck by the butt of her staff. He realizes in shock that her blunt attack hurt him and wonders how that could happen, and as he tries to get up and charge at Marigold again, Sandersonia grabs him with her tail, wanting to get a chance to play with him. Sandersonia is somehow able to hurt Luffy by constricting him, and she notes that he has no knowledge of Haki. She then predicts that he will attack with his right leg, and gets out of the way to avoid it. She slams Luffy into the ground with her tail, and this attack does not hurt him, but he is unable to land any attacks on her as she effortlessly dodges them, which the spectators state to be Haki. Marigold then strikes Luffy with her tail, sending him tumbling across the arena into the pit, and he barely manages to stay above the spikes.

Hancock remarks that it is hard to even describe how laughable Luffy is, and he tells her to be quiet as he gets back onto the arena, causing the spectators to fly into a rage and clamor for his death. Hancock echoes their wishes as she looks down on Luffy to the greatest degree, and Marigold and Sandersonia decide to give Luffy despair in addition to death. Sandersonia grabs the petrified Marguerite and prepares to shatter her to punish Luffy, causing him to become enraged as he remembers how she admired Hancock. Marigold constricts Luffy as Sandersonia prepares to slam Marguerite in the ground, but Luffy then shouts at them to stop. This unwittingly releases an effect that causes several of the spectators to lose consciousness, and a shell-shocked Marigold and Sandersonia release Luffy and Marguerite. The Kuja realize that Luffy just unleashed Supreme King Haki, which only one in a million people possess, and they had never seen anyone but Hancock use it. As everyone wonders just who Luffy is, he declares that he will now fight with everything he has.

Chapter 520
As Luffy activates Gear 2, the audience is amazed by the steam coming out of his body and question if it is something all men can do. Sandersonia reassures Marigold that his Haki is not a concern as long as he cannot control it. Sandersonia lashes out with her Hebigami-Tsuki: Yamata no Orochi technique, but Luffy dodges all of her attacks with relative ease. Even though she is using Observation Haki to read his movements, he is moving too fast for her to keep up. Luffy, with his astonishing speed, wraps his arm around her neck and slams her into the ground. Marigold then swings her polearm at him, but he dodges. As prepares to strike her, she readies to deflect his attack again; however, the force of his Jet Bazooka sends her flying back and breaks her polearm. The whole crowd is shocked into silence.

Irritated, Hancock asks her sisters to fight seriously. Her sisters apologize and promise end things now. Marigold lights herself on fire and attacks with Hebigami-Tsuki: Salamander, while Sandersonia attacks with Hebigami-Tsuki: Yamata no Orochi again. Since the hair snakes surround him and block any escape, Luffy unleashes Jet Gatling, punching all of the snake heads, much to the sisters' and crowd's shock. He then kicks them in their stomachs, sending them crashing into each other. Marigold's fire spreads to Sandersonia, but when Marigold tries to push herself away, she realizes that Luffy has tied their tails together. While Luffy celebrates, Sandersonia in her panic tries to flee, almost falling out of the ring and down onto the spikes, but catches herself on the outer ring's railing. When he realizes that Sandersonia's shirt burned off, Luffy jumps on her back, and the crowd thinks he is trying to throw her into the spikes. Although she protests, he tells her not to move and reminds her that he does not want to kill them. Sandersonia asks Marigold to remove him, but Marigold hesitates because he is covering the Gorgon's Eyes on her back. Luffy remembered that the sisters would rather die than let anyone see the eyes.

Hancock declares the fight is over and orders everyone to leave the arena. Sandersonia asks Luffy why he would help them even though they were trying to kill him, to which Luffy responds that the thing on their back has nothing to do with their match. Hancock, after seeing Luffy's kind personality, starts to weep.

Chapter 521
At the arena, Sandersonia and Marigold apologize to Hancock for losing, but Hancock says it's fine and Luffy looks over at Marguerite's body and is relieved to see she's fine. As Luffy is done checking her, he looks up and asks Hancock if she's gonna fight him now, but Hancock says she won't and is done with all the fighting and just wants to end things now. When Luffy asks her to change the others back to normal and if she has the power to change them back, she confirms she does, but says she will give Luffy two options: he can have a ship and be transported back to Sabaody or return the others back to normal and find himself another way to get off the island himself and looks down on him with a smirk telling him to make a choice and thinks to herself to make his choice and show his true nature. However, Luffy gets on his knees in gratitude and asks her to turn them all back to normal, leaving Hancock speechless, prompting Nyon to comment on how Luffy with his willpower to bow to someone without hesitation to save his benefactors.

Afterwards, Marguerite and her friends are turned back to normal as the others are happy that they are all alright. When she asks what happened to Luffy the other Kuja's state he was invited to the palace alone, shocking everyone. At the palace, Sonia expresses her gratitude to Luffy for covering her back and apologizes for before and Luffy says it's alright since she said she's sorry and Marigold states if anyone saw what was really on their back they'd have to leave the country. While Luffy wonders what they mean, Hancock says he can come in behind the curtains and as he does, he thinks it's food only to be disappointed and confused as to why Hancock is naked, prompting Hancock to remark how his rudeness is astonishing, but forgets that and tells him to look at what he saw on her back again and tell her where he saw it before. The mark on her back is revealed as a hoof mark and as Luffy looks at it trying to remember it, Hancock tells him to hurry as this is not something she likes showing to others. Luffy states he remembers it and says he mistook it for the mark on Hatchis forehead from before. At that moment, Nyon comes in and tells Hancock about how she should trust him despite her saying she shouldn't have come in and is hesitant. However, Nyon reads from the newspaper and reveals of Luffy's assault on a World Noble and how he sent him flying with a punch, leaving the sisters speechless. Nyon comments at that moment it would be impossible to escape and yet Luffy ended up here causing Marigold to asks who he is and Luffy retorts saying that is what he's been trying to tell them and has no idea how he got there and also mentions he doesn't regret what he did to the noble. Hancock, overwhelmed with what she heard from Luffy begins to tear up relieved there are still people that will fight against those people and stand up for others, just like "him". When Luffy asks who she's talking about, Hancock, knowing she can trust him, states she'll tell him everything and tells him of her mark: the mark of the Celestial Dragons. She and her sisters were slaves.

When she was twelve, she and her sisters were kidnapped when they were on their ship as beginner pirates and sold to the Celestial Dragons and when she saw the first man in her life he painfully branded the mark on her back and caused her to hate men. Sonia starts screaming from the painful memories and Luffy says that they don't have to talk about it if they don't want to. Hancock and her sisters were slaves for four years and suffered the worst terrors ever until one day, a fish-man named Fisher Tiger climbed the Red Line and set all slaves free. And, though he hated humans, he did not discriminate and set all kinds of slaves free and burnt Mary Geoise down. While Hancock admitted she was afraid of the brutality he displayed, she stated they owe him a debt they can never repay and Nyon states it's because Tiger has been long dead and the remaining Sun Pirate members have scattered. Hancock says the fish-men slaves he freed decided to join him and he marked their slave symbols with the sun mark and notes that what Hatchi has on his forehead. When Luffy asks if Hatchi was a slave (since he has that very mark), Sonia says that's not the case as the sun mark's true purpose was to make others unable to tell slave from non-slaves. Hancock then reveals how she and her sisters were forcibly fed their Devil Fruits and how she lies and acts the way she does because she believes they would bring shame on their people and, crying uncontrollably, states she would rather lie to all of them then let them know the shame they went through and want to protect their honor rather than shame them, herself, and her sisters and how these memories are just so painful. Luffy can only watch with a stern and angry look after discovering the Celestial Dragons cruelty towards Hancock.

Nyon starts mocking Hancock over how she's amused how she had thought the snake princess's heart had turned as cold as ice from her experiences, but Hancock tells her to be quiet and remember her place as an outcast, but Nyon retorts that she should be more grateful that if Nyon hadn't been out at sea, all three of them would have nowhere to go and Nyon would never have found them if she wasn't away from her home. Hancock calls that just an old debt she's talking about, angering Nyon stating she raised her and her sisters as if they were her own daughters and Sonia and Marigold help calm her down. Hancock then turns away from Luffy and nervously asks if he scorns her knowing of her past as a slave, but Luffy says the only ones he hates are the World Nobles and not her. Hancock, while blushing, smiles, saying she likes Luffy, and offers him use of her ship, making Luffy very happy.

Chapter 522
After telling Luffy all about her past, Hancock agrees to give him a ride to Sabaody Archipelago with her Perfume Yuda. She also invites Luffy to their banquet tonight and to rest inside. As Luffy parties, several Kuja's start poking him due to his rubber body and their interest in a man. Several more girls are interested in Luffy and want to touch him and he runs away despite them seemingly being attracted by his rubber body. He escapes with Marguerite to Elder Nyon's house.

At her house Luffy discovers that Hancock is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and admits his surprise. Nyon states that Hancock at 18 years old became the empress of the Kuja and quickly gained a notorious reputation, catching the attention of the Marines and even the World Government, who were frightened of her potential, as she had earned a large bounty of 80 million after only one campaign. Hancock later opted to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea in order to protect her fellow Kuja, by forming a treaty to protect their homeland, which prevented the World Government from entering the island. Nyon then reads on the paper about the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines and surprising Luffy further with Nyon commenting on his lack of knowledge and then reads off the prisoner on death row, his brother Portgas D. Ace is about to be taken to his execution. Luffy then is horrified by reading this as he listens that Blackbeard was the one who put Ace in prison and cuts Nyon off revealing he is Ace's brother, shocking Nyon. Luffy asks if Ace really is going to be executed and Nyon says he will and wonders when. She says it is in five days and that a trip to get back to Sabaody would take a week, and Luffy says it will be too late by the time he reunites with his crew, so he asks for a faster way. Nyon tells him that Ace is being held at Impel Down, the maximum security prison. Luffy decides to go rescue Ace before reuniting with his crew. He says sorry to his comrades after deciding to rescue Ace at Impel Down, and asks Elder Nyon how he can rescue Ace. She says that if Whitebeard wins the war, he might be saved. Nyon, however, points out that Luffy's plan to rescue his older brother is reckless as he is facing a full-fledged war, and since Ace is the most important prisoner there, and that Whitebeard will not let his men be killed without a fight, the Marines are preparing for a real battle, meaning that they are going to have both the admirals (Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu) and the other Warlords there as well. She claims that Luffy will be like a leaf whipped about by a storm, yet Luffy refuses to leave behind his own brother, claiming that he would never live with himself if he lost Ace. Elder Nyon tells him that there is only one other way to make it to his brother in time, by asking Hancock to accept the call of the Marines as a Marine battle ship can make it in time and Luffy goes to ask her with Nyon.

As Luffy and Nyon arrive to ask her, one of her subjects arrives and reveals that Hancock has contracted a fatal illness. Hancock has caught an unknown disease and feels in great pain for some reason. As Nyon deduces her illness, she says she knows the illness and when Hancock asks if she will die, Nyon says she will, much to Sonia's and Mary's anger telling her not to joke and she says she is not. She tells Hancock her illness is what killed her previous predecessors and that Luffy is here to see her and surprisingly, Hancock says she will see him, much to everyone's shock that she stood up, especially Nyon who wonders if Luffy really was able to change Hancock so much. On the balcony, Luffy sees her and asks if she is alright and she says no illness will get to her. Luffy tells her about his brother and his desire to save her and begs her to take him to Impel Down and answer the call to war. Sonia and Mary yell in anger claiming Luffy is using her and forcing her to relive her horrors as a slave to go to such a place and that this is why they hate men and refuse to let him use their sister like this. However, despite all this, Hancock, while blushing heavily, says she will happily answer the call and go wherever Luffy wishes, to which Luffy thanks her and now can make it to Ace on time. Her family is shocked by such a thing and her sisters asks what is happening and Nyon says that her sickness is called "Love Sickness" and that Hancock has fallen in love with Luffy and all the previous empresses died from being away from their loved ones and goes on to say that "love is like a hurricane".