Captured

Beneath the Red Line, a Marine ship marked with the letters CP3 sped toward its destination.

Everyone aboard wore snow-white uniforms and expressionless masks.

At the bow, three masked figures stood together. One of them slowly tucked the Den Den Mushi in his hand into his clothes.

"Take ten men and head to Copperfield by speedboat to provide support. If you don't find the little girl, make sure Toby doesn't stay alive!"

Without turning around, he simply extended a hand and gave the order to the two men behind him, the one who had just been holding the Den Den Mushi.

"Yes, sir!"

Without another word, the two men bowed respectfully and accepted the order. They returned to the cabin, gathered ten men, quickly boarded a speedboat, and set off for Copperfield.

On the other side, Toby had just hung up. He tossed the Den Den Mushi aside, his face full of disdain.

"Wait for you to come help? Dream on. I just want a ship to get out of here. I don't want to stay in this city with that lunatic any longer!"

"Lunatic? Are you talking about me?"

Toby had barely hung up when a voice rang out. At the same time, the door opened, revealing Chen Qiang standing outside.

"Bang!"

The moment he saw Chen Qiang in the doorway, Toby didn't hesitate. He crashed through the window beside him and fled outside.

But once he got out, he realized that in the short time he'd spent on the phone, Chen Qiang had already destroyed every gem above the city. Not a single one remained.

Although he was shocked, Toby didn't freeze. Yellow light flashed in his hand, and a yellow gem appeared. He hurled it forward, then turned into a beam of light and dove into the gem, flying into the distance.

But before he could get far, a pool of blood that had seemed insignificant on the ground suddenly surged up and blocked his path. When he reappeared and prepared to flee in another direction, Chen Qiang had somehow already come up behind him.

"Clatter!"

Chains rattled. Toby felt something wrap around his feet, and a wave of weakness washed over him. His body went limp, and he crumpled to the ground.

Just then, Chen Qiang appeared beside him and thrust a blood-red blade straight at his heart.

"Bang!"

Chen Qiang's blade struck true, but he hadn't expected a red gem to be embedded in Toby's chest. It blocked the blow. The instant Chen Qiang's blade hit the gem, a massive explosion erupted from Toby's chest and sent Chen Qiang flying.

Toby had blocked the attack, but the explosion had injured him too. Still, his wounds were minor and barely affected him. He seized the chance to throw Chen Qiang back, quickly freed himself from the Seastone restraints, and got to his feet, fleeing once more.

But Chen Qiang was no longer the same man who had fought Toby twice before. His wounds had healed during this time, and his strength had improved to some degree. He was stronger than before.

The improvement wasn't great, but when evenly matched fighters faced off, victory or defeat often came down to just such a small difference.

Chen Qiang had grown stronger, while Toby hadn't changed. In fact, after two consecutive battles, Toby was already somewhat exhausted. That made the fight ahead much simpler.

During the pursuit, Chen Qiang took advantage of Toby's ignorance of his increased strength and unleashed a sudden burst of speed. He stabbed Toby in the shoulder, pinned him to the ground, and wrapped Seastone chains around him.

Then Chen Qiang stamped down, one foot at a time, breaking both of Toby's legs.

"Ahhh! You bastard!"

With both legs broken, Toby let out a shrill scream and a hysterical roar.

"Kill me! Just kill me! You can't escape anyway. Cipher Pol will be here soon, and they'll capture you for sure. Hahahahaha!"

Realizing there was no way out, Toby roared at Chen Qiang like a madman.

Chen Qiang didn't answer. He simply brought his blade down and severed one of Toby's arms.

"Ahhh!"

Another scream rang out.

"Heh. Don't talk. Just listen to me!"

Only after Toby's screams stopped did Chen Qiang climb off him with a smile. He grabbed Toby by the hair and looked him in the eye.

"How should I put it? You know I'm not going to let you go. No matter what you know or what you can do, you're going to die here today."

"But as a good person, I've decided to give you a chance. I'll let you take the whole city down with you. What do you think?"

Chen Qiang asked with a pleasant smile, as though he were discussing it with him.

"Pfft."

Toby showed his contempt for Chen Qiang's words. His throat moved as he tried to spit in Chen Qiang's face.

But the moment Toby's throat moved, Chen Qiang realized what he was about to do. Without hesitation, he grabbed Toby's head and slammed it into the ground. The force was so great that the earth around them cracked.

And Chen Qiang didn't stop after that. He lifted Toby's head and repeatedly smashed it against the ground until he felt it was enough. By then, he had pounded a crater into the earth.

"W-what do you want me to do?"

When Chen Qiang lifted Toby's head again, it was covered in blood. Under the crushing shadow of death, Toby finally chose to yield.

"You should've said that sooner. You're practically dead already, so why were you still being so stubborn? Help me with something, and I'll make sure you die quickly, all right?"

Seeing Toby give in, Chen Qiang smiled again and spoke to him.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing much. I just want you to make some of those red gems you used to attack me."

"Fine."

"I want enough to cover half the city!"

Toby had just had the Seastone removed from his body and was about to start making gems. At Chen Qiang's words, his hands froze. Staring blankly at Chen Qiang, his face covered in blood, he didn't move.

"Can't you make one that big? Then make some smaller ones and stack them up until they're that size!"

Seeing Toby's stunned expression, Chen Qiang immediately understood what he meant. With a broad smile, he spoke again.