At that moment, Karina was riding her bubble car along the main branch marked as No. 50. She let out a small breath of relief—GR 51 wasn't far now.
If she were alone, Karina could have easily played along and evaded the people pursuing them. But with Joanne tagging along, she had to be much more cautious.
After all, aside from her exceptional talent in cooking and intuition, Joanne was... well, utterly lacking in other areas.
Not every chef was like Sanji, capable of fending off enemies with martial prowess alone.
The two of them pushed the bubble car to its limits, the entrance to GR 51 just within reach—when a smooth voice suddenly reached their ears.
"Where are two lovely ladies headed in such a hurry?"
Before they could react, Clodia was already standing in front of them.
Karina's expression didn't change. She barked a quick order to Joanne: "Don't stop. We're going through!"
"We're with the Sword Demon, Weiss. You'd better back off—he's on his way right now. Let us pass if you know what's good for you!"
She shouted with all the authority she could muster.
---
"Oh? How terrifying," Clodia replied mockingly. "You expect me to believe that someone so weak is part of the Sword Demon's crew? People claim to be from his ship every other day on this island. If you're going to name-drop, at least try something more believable. Why would the Sword Demon keep deadweight like you around?"
His face showed complete disbelief, and he wasn't wrong—ever since Weiss had risen to fame, many had used his name to get away with shady business. Most ended up exposed as frauds and dealt with accordingly.
Clodia, being nothing more than a human trafficker and scammer, naturally assumed Karina was bluffing.
"Come now, ladies. Let's not make this difficult. I'm only after money."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Clodia vanished from their line of sight and reappeared right in front of their speeding vehicle. With outstretched arms, he brought the bubble car to a halt.
Karina's eyes widened. She immediately jumped off the vehicle.
No sooner had they been stopped than over twenty people emerged from behind nearby tree trunks—some had followed Clodia here, others had been tailing the girls from earlier.
Nearby pirates took notice of the commotion but adopted a "not my business" attitude. If there was a show to watch, great—but none of them wanted to get involved.
Karina and Joanne stood close, eyes wary as they scanned the encirclement. Karina cursed under her breath—where the hell was Weiss?
Clodia's speed and strength were far beyond anything she could handle. Maybe in the original timeline, Karina had survived the seas alone with some meager strength—enough to chase her dream of becoming a singer for the Golden Emperor—but now, traveling with Weiss meant most of the heavy lifting was done by true powerhouses.
Even minor pirates were handled by Jack and the others—Karina herself had little real strength anymore.
As the attackers closed in, Karina realized she couldn't just wait for rescue. She lashed out with a kick at one of Clodia's goons—but the man easily dodged with a backward step.
"Now, now, little miss. Don't make this harder than it has to be," Clodia said, his voice oddly gentle. "We only want money—but if you resist, I can't promise what my boys might do."
His tone remained calm. After all, the plan was to sell them to the Celestial Dragons—damaged goods would fetch a lower price. But if they resisted too much, well… he had men here with other kinds of appetites.
"Karina, maybe we should stall," Joanne whispered beside her. "I called Weiss already. We just need to buy time. Once he arrives, they're screwed."
Karina hesitated. She really couldn't get Joanne out of here on her own. There was no other option.
"Fine. How much do you want? I'll call my captain and have him prepare the ransom," Karina said as she pulled out a Den Den Mushi to make the call.
"Ah-ah, no need to trouble yourself, my pretty princess," Clodia purred, flashing a smug, knowing smile. "I'll make the call myself."
Karina gave a subtle sneer and casually tossed the Den Den Mushi to him.
Clodia caught it in one hand and lifted it to his nose, inhaling deeply like a creep. The device still carried her faint fragrance—his expression was downright revolting.
Joanne silently took a step back.
Brr-brr. Click.
"Karina, where are you? I'm coming now!" Weiss's voice crackled urgently through the line.
"Mmm, perhaps I've got them surrounded as we speak," Clodia replied smoothly. "But don't worry. They're perfectly safe—we haven't laid a hand on them. One of my men did get kicked in the jewels, though."
"Name your price," Weiss growled.
He didn't mention being the Sword Demon—clearly Karina had already said it, and if the other side was still acting this bold, then either they didn't care… or didn't believe.
Weiss had no way of knowing it was the latter.
Clodia had personally dealt with more than a few imposters pretending to be on the Sword Demon's crew.
"You sound quite young," Clodia said mockingly. "Impressive! Better than those idiots who send greasy thirty-year-olds to play the role. You almost had me fooled."
"My demands are simple: pay one billion Berries, and you can have these two little darlings back. If not… I'll sell them to the Celestial Dragons."
He delivered the ultimatum with smug satisfaction. Surely, the threat alone would make the man on the other end comply.
Everyone knew what fate awaited slaves of the Celestial Dragons.
"Fine! Tell me where to bring the ransom!" Weiss snapped.
He was already speeding toward Tree No. 50. The conversation was just a stalling tactic now. His Observation Haki was fully unleashed—once he locked onto their location, that bastard would wish he'd never been born.
Kidnapping one of his crew? This was grounds for total slaughter.
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't share the location just yet," Clodia said with a sly grin. "First, I'm taking them with me."
With that, he abruptly ended the call. He signaled his men to surround Karina and Joanne and begin escorting them away.
Karina didn't resist. She knew they were safe for the moment. Still, she found it strangely amusing—someone had actually dared to hang up on Weiss.
Back near the edge of Tree No. 50, Weiss finally locked onto their position. His speed surged again, leaving behind only a blur in the air.
A murderous aura erupted from his body, so intense it could be felt even ten miles away.
"You've got some nerve," he muttered coldly. "Kidnapping my crew? You're going to wish you were dead."