Chapters · Summit War › Marineford

Chapter 560: Prisoners of Impel Down

Arc: Marineford · Saga: Summit War · Released: 2009-09-14

Summary

In the thick of the Summit War, Boa Hancock presses the key to Ace’s seastone shackles into Luffy’s hand (“I knew you’d come back to me alive”); Luffy thanks her with a flying bear-hug that leaves the Pirate Empress swooning over “marriage,” then scatters the Marines who try to stop him with Perfume Femur. Charging toward the execution platform, Luffy and Emporio Ivankov run into Kuma — but “there’s something wrong.” Doflamingo gleefully spells it out: the government scientist Dr. Vegapunk made the “final modification” that turned Kuma into a fully weaponized human, Pacifista PX-0. Kuma volunteered as a human-weapons guinea pig and was converted piece by piece; he was self-aware until “a few days ago,” but now remembers nothing and is “a living corpse” that only takes orders. Kuma opens fire (Pad Cannon, Face Spectrum); Ivankov counters (Galaxy Wink, his afro-strike) and vows to “beat those memories back into you,” sending the others ahead to clear Luffy’s path while Buggy launches “Operation Make Captain Buggy Famous.” Elsewhere Crocodile cuts through Whitebeard’s division commanders with sand to get at “Pops,” brushing off Doflamingo’s offer to team up (“Stay out of my way or I’ll kill you too”); Diamond Jozu smashes Marines with a diamond fist. The chapter ends on Mihawk, who muses on the boy’s fate, apologizes to “Red-Haired” (Shanks), and draws the black blade Yoru as Luffy cries “Hawkeye!!”

New reveals

• Kuma is Pacifista PX-0. Dr. Vegapunk performed the “final modification” that “turned him into a fully weaponized human.” He is no longer Bartholomew Kuma — “he’s a living corpse… a human-weapon monster that takes orders from the government” (pp. 5-7).
• Kuma’s conversion process. He volunteered to be a guinea pig for the government’s human-weapons research project; his arms were weaponized first, then his legs, and “every part of his body was modified, piece by piece, over time.” He was conscious through it and “still self-aware until a few days ago” (p. 6).
• Hancock delivers Ace’s key. Boa Hancock gives Luffy the key to his brother’s seastone shackles, the object he needs to free Ace on the platform (p. 2).
• Diamond Jozu. A Whitebeard commander, “Diamond Jozu,” uses a diamond-hardened body and a diamond punch, Brilliant Punk, to flatten Marines; an officer notes his dangerous “size and speed” (pp. 14-15).
• Crocodile vs. Whitebeard. Crocodile, fresh out of Impel Down (“the dip in the blood pond”), cuts down Whitebeard’s commanders with sand to reach Whitebeard, and refuses Doflamingo’s proposed alliance (pp. 12-13, 16).
• Mihawk enters the fray. Mihawk unsheathes his black blade Yoru against Luffy, telling the absent “Red-Haired” that “this power knows no restraint” (p. 17).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

(No earlier Foreshadowing seed reaches full on-page payoff this chapter. The Pacifista/weaponized-Kuma seeds gain strong supporting evidence — see above — but their full payoffs lie forward.)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy, Hancock (Pirate Empress), Ace (referenced — his shackles/key), Emporio Ivankov (“Iva”), Kuma (now Pacifista PX-0), Doflamingo, Vegapunk (named, not shown), Crocodile, Jozu (“Diamond Jozu”), Mihawk (“Hawkeye”), Buggy, Whitebeard (“Pops,” referenced), Shanks (“Red-Haired,” referenced)
• Locations: Marine Headquarters (Marineford — plaza & bay)
• Powers / fruits: Nikyu Nikyu no Mi (Kuma/Pacifista — Pad Cannon, Face Spectrum), Mero Mero no Mi (Hancock — Perfume Femur), Suna Suna no Mi (Crocodile — sand), Horu Horu no Mi (Ivankov — Galaxy Wink, Newkama-kenpo afro-strike), Jozu’s diamond ability (Brilliant Punk; fruit unnamed on-page), Mihawk’s black blade Yoru (p. 17)
• Groups: Marines, Whitebeard Pirates, Buggy Pirates, Seven Warlords of the Sea, Pacifista

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page, also the final installment of the cover serial “Zolo’s ‘Where Are They? What a Pain’ — Final Volume: ‘Creeping Shadow’”: a ruined castle and graveyard with a cross, and a shadowed figure holding a long-bladed weapon.
• Page 2 — Hancock hands Luffy the key to Ace’s shackles; Luffy bear-hugs her in thanks; Hancock swoons.
• Pages 5-6 — The PX-0 reveal: Doflamingo and Ivankov narrate Vegapunk’s “final modification,” Kuma’s volunteered, piece-by-piece weaponization, and his memory-wipe (“a living corpse”).
• Page 8 — Ivankov’s “Galaxy Wink!!” vs. Kuma’s “Pad Cannon!!”
• Page 14-15 — “Brilliant Punk!!”: Diamond Jozu’s diamond fist crushes Marines.
• Page 16 — Doflamingo taunts Crocodile about “the blood pond” and offers a team-up; Crocodile refuses.
• Page 17 — Cliffhanger splash: Mihawk draws the black blade Yoru against Luffy — “Sorry, Red-Haired… but this power knows no restraint.” Links Worlds Greatest Swordsman.
• Page 18 — End-of-volume “Panda Man” hidden-mascot feature (Vol. 57). Not a story page.

Open questions raised

• What deal did Kuma strike with the World Government, and why would the anti-government “Tyrant” volunteer to be flayed into a weapon?
• Is anything of the real Kuma left beneath PX-0 — or was his Sabaody farewell to the Straw Hats his last conscious act?
• Will Luffy survive Mihawk’s black blade and reach the platform with Ace’s key?
• What is the full extent of Jozu’s diamond ability?