Ace's Convoy Begins! Battle on the Lowest Floor - Level 6!

Reaching Level 6 with Ivankov and Inazuma, Luffy reunites with Ace's former cellmate Jinbe, but Ace's cage stands empty. The group survives trap mechanisms and sleeping gas thanks to Inazuma's Choki Choki no Mi ability. Above them, Magellan hands Ace over to Vice Admiral Onigumo for transport to the execution grounds, while Buggy and Galdino find themselves stuck back on Level 3. In the lowest depths of the prison, Luffy crosses paths once more with Crocodile.

Pushing through the traps on the way down, Ivankov gender-swaps a male guard into her true self, and in gratitude she points the way to Ace's cell, where only Jinbe and a set of empty shackles remain. Jinbe urges Luffy toward the elevator to catch the convoy, but a spiked obstacle in the shaft strikes the captain and the chance slips away. Bars seal off the staircase back to Level 5, and Hannyabal orders sleeping gas pumped into Level 6, forcing Inazuma to shield the trio with his powers. Ace worsens his situation by rebelling and is pinned by Magellan before being handed to Onigumo for the trip to Marineford. On Level 3, Buggy and Galdino face the Sphinx, and at that same moment Luffy encounters Crocodile in the depths.

Drawing from pages two to fifteen of Chapter 540, this Impel Down arc episode introduces the Choki Choki no Mi and debuts Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Ricochet. The anime expands several manga beats: the captured guard becomes a woman who willingly guides the group, Ivankov disables only a single Den Den Mushi rather than several, and Ace is shown fighting guards before Magellan pins him.