How should one describe this man? At first glance, he gave off a bright, sunny impression. At second glance, he felt like a gentleman.
And when he turned around, the normally dazed and adorable Joanne was left completely stunned.
It wasn't because of his looks, but rather something strange—why was his hair glowing? Had he mutated?
Thinking of this, Joanne's eyes sparkled like stars.
But the feeling this man gave off wasn't good at all. Joanne saw two words written all over him:
Fake. Pretender.
And what about Karina? What was her impression?
Honestly, nothing much. In terms of looks, maybe only that pervert Kadun on the ship could lose to this guy.
The young man, seemingly pleased with Joanne's reaction, glanced at Karina's unchanged expression and frowned ever so slightly.
"Are you two lovely ladies alright? That man just now was a local thug—he often pretends to be an old man to scam others."
He then struck what he must've thought was a dazzling pose, flicking his long hair behind his ear.
...
...
Karina resisted the urge to gag. Still, she knew not to slap a smiling face, especially since this man had helped them—"helped" being a generous interpretation.
"Thank you so much, handsome. I honestly don't know how to repay you."
"Perhaps..." Just then, Joanne subtly tugged at Karina's sleeve.
Karina paused mid-sentence. The young man's eyes lit up—was this it? Had they finally fallen for his otherworldly charm?
"Perhaps I could give you some money. Consider it payment."
"Money is but a worldly possession! I, Clodia, did not help for—"
"It's around 50 million Berry."
"For… for…"
Clodia couldn't even finish his sentence.
He'd assumed the reward would be a few thousand, maybe tens of thousands at most—something he could decline with dignity. But fifty million? That was enough for years of work!
Who would've thought these two out-of-towners had so much money? No wonder they'd been shopping nonstop, even in places he didn't dare step foot in.
"You sure you don't want the money, handsome?"
"Hmph! Little lady, I help people out of kindness, not for money. You truly underestimate me. Goodbye!"
Clodia turned dramatically to leave, chanting silently in his heart:
Call me back. Call me back. Call me back!
But he walked for quite a while and never heard the sound he was waiting for. Usually, by now, naive girls would run after him and cling to him. Something felt… off.
He glanced back with the corner of his eye—and his entire body stiffened.
Karina and Joanne hadn't even spared him a glance. They were already walking away.
Clodia stared at the empty street behind him, expression darkening. He pulled out a Den Den Mushi and made a call.
"Find those women."
Karina, now far from the scene, had no idea what was happening behind her. She was already on high alert.
"Joanne," she asked, "Did you sense something just now?"
"A mask. Deception," Joanne replied simply.
The subtle tug on Karina's sleeve had been a clear warning. Even without it, Karina had sensed something was off.
"Let's hurry back to the ship. Even if Weiss and the others aren't around, the Chris's flag will keep us safe."
After a quick discussion, one made a call while the other bought two bubble bikes. They rode off toward the Chris.
If scams like this were already happening in the shopping district, who knew what kind of chaos went on in the illegal zones?
Meanwhile, on the very street where Karina had just thrown away her jacket, Clodia ducked into a narrow alley and entered a house carved out of a giant tree.
He kicked the door open without hesitation. Inside were over a dozen people—including the same thugs who had tried to scam Karina earlier.
"What's the status?" Clodia asked coldly, eyeing a man lying on the ground.
"Nothing life-threatening," someone replied after a pause. "But he won't be able to perform… manly duties anymore."
Clodia didn't bother with the details. In their line of work, death was always a possibility. Losing a couple of balls? Not even worth discussing.
With so many kinds of Devil Fruits in the world, one of them could surely fix it.
"Did you send someone to follow the women?"
"They're on it."
"Boss," one of his men asked, "Once we locate them, are we sticking with the usual plan?"
"No. We're kidnapping them. Demand a billion Berries in ransom. Anyone who casually offers fifty million as a reward must come from money."
"Once we get the money, we sell them to the Celestial Dragons like usual. Even if they turn out to be princesses, there'll be no escaping a slave's fate."
No one objected. They were used to this. Human traffickers—but not just traffickers.
Their specialty was young girls around seventeen or eighteen who looked wealthy. Even slightly older ones weren't targets.
The scam always started the same: a staged rescue, a charming smile, a handsome face. It worked every time.
After that came the real crime: kidnapping, blackmail, and worse.
They were careful never to mess with local forces or infamous pirate crews. Every job was calculated to avoid accidents.
But there had been one close call. They'd once underestimated a girl's background and were terrified when they learned her family would come after them.
They tried to negotiate—either get paid or sell the girl to the Celestial Dragons. The family nearly gave in out of fear.
But word got out to a Celestial Dragon playing in Sabaody at the time. He took the girl on the spot, right in front of her people.
She knew what was coming. And right in front of him, she took her own life.
The enraged Celestial Dragon destroyed her entire family.
And he got away with it—without consequence.
They'd always known the Celestial Dragons were powerful. But that day, they learned just how untouchable they really were.
From that point on, they didn't just scam and kidnap—they became full-fledged traffickers.
Thanks to the fact that Weiss's crew rarely showed their faces, most of the world didn't even know what they looked like. Only the Marines and a few elite forces had that intel.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared try something like this.
"Boss, we found them. GR 50," a subordinate reported.
"We've been tailing them without being noticed."
"No need to rush," Clodia said, cracking a wicked grin. "Just keep following. This is a big catch. I'll handle it personally."
He crushed his wine glass in one hand, shards scattering across the floor.
Meanwhile, Karina had no idea of the storm that was approaching. She was speeding toward the docked Chris at full throttle—bubble car roaring beneath her, wind howling past her ears.
---
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