The Lid to the Cauldron of Hell Opens

On the fourth tier, Blackbeard lays out his scheme: with Luffy's defeat of Crocodile opening a Warlord vacancy, he meant to hand the boy over as a trophy for the World Government, evidence of his own worth. He recalls how Ace, pursuing him after a vile betrayal aboard Whitebeard's crew, would not let his brother be taken, which locked the two onto a collision course. Furious, Luffy enters Gear 2 and drives Blackbeard clean through a wall, but the man retaliates with the Yami Yami no Mi, hauling Luffy in by the hand and smashing him down; the blood that follows startles even Crocodile, given that Luffy is made of rubber.

Jinbe seizes Luffy's arm and tells him not to burn his strength here, since Blackbeard, an enigma even among Whitebeard's ranks, was strong enough to bring down Ace. Crocodile presses Blackbeard on why he would throw away a title he had only just won, and gets only that it serves a larger plan. Magellan then descends, his Hydra washing over the inmates, and Ivankov, still in female form, warns Luffy a second dose of that poison would kill him. As prisoners flee, the Jailer Beast Minotaurus attacks anew, and Crocodile explains that these beasts are awakened Zoan users blessed with savage stamina and recovery. Blackbeard muses that nothing is truly impossible and that if Sky Island is real, then so is the One Piece, vowing the world will soon shudder at his crew. Reaching Sadi and freeing her, Magellan turns his Hydra on Blackbeard's men, leaving them collapsed and writhing as the venom seeps in.

Blackbeard admits to capturing Ace as the price of his Warlord title. The notion of awakening is introduced: Crocodile explains the four Jailer Beasts are Devil Fruit users whose powers have reached that heightened state. Magellan's Hydra leaves Blackbeard's crew steeped in poison.

The Japanese title speaks of the lid lifting off the cauldron of hell. The installment ran in Shonen Jump beside a celebration for the release of the 54th volume. Its cover closes Sanji's Kamabakka resistance tale, where he seems to have turned okama. Events fall within the Impel Down storyline.