Chapter 76: Is North Pole colder or South Pole?
"North Pole is colder!"
"No, South Pole is colder!"
"No, it's obvious that North Pole is colder!"
Shanks and Buggy, who were eight years old this year and apprentices of the Roger Pirates, had been on Roger's ship since they were very young.
They were arguing about something useless which escalated from verbal dispute to quarrel, and finally to punches. However, the members of Roger Pirates seemed accustomed to this sort of thing and didn't find it strange at all.
"Alright, you two, you've been arguing about this since you joined the crew. If you want to know which is true, go and check it out for yourselves!"
Right now was clearly not the time to fight. Rayleigh behind them settled the issue fairly with one punch each.
"Now is not the time for you to argue. Hurry up and restock supplies. We're about to set sail."
After the God Valley Incident, the bounty of the Roger Pirates did not change much since in the World Government's report, it was all due to the Marines. They created "Marine Hero Garp" as a symbol for the Marines to boost their prestige.
Although Garp's strength was worthy of the position of a hero, the World Government also played a significant role.
As a witness to the event, Garp has been pursuing the Roger Pirates whenever he discovers their whereabouts, almost treating Roger as his destined enemy.
However, Garp did not like the World Government's behavior of concealing the truth, and he had always refused to be promoted to Admiral because he did not like the Celestial Dragons.
After becoming a Marine Admiral, their freedom would decrease, and they would have to be stationed at specific locations to deal with special incidents. In comparison, Vice Admirals are more free to act.
In order to better pursue Roger, Garp refused to take on the post of Admiral.
And the biggest impact of this matter was actually on Sengoku. The mechanism of the Marine's Three Admirals has been established for a long time, but now the positions of the Three Admirals have been vacant all along. Zephyr has moved behind the scenes and taken on the role of chief instructor, while Garp has declined promotion, causing Sengoku to become particularly busy most of the time.
Whenever he sees the vacant position of Fleet Admiral at Marine Headquarters, he would always complain about this matter.
The current generation of Marines didn't have anyone who could shoulder the position of Admiral, so Marines had to maintain the status quo. Anyway, after Rocks defeat in the God Valley battle, the situation at sea has improved significantly.
Sengoku can handle the workload with some extra effort, and once the new generation of Marines grows up, the vacancy of Admiral will be filled naturally. It's better to leave the position vacant than to force someone who's not competent to fill it.
Roger Pirates had just escaped Garp's pursuit, so to prevent being followed again, they have to quickly replenish their supplies and leave.
Even apprentices have to work. Shanks and Buggy had to buy some things, so after receiving a scolding from Rayleigh, the members of the Roger Pirates separated and began to move around on their own.
At the moment, Olga was bargaining with someone, ignoring the quarrel on the other side. She was not interested in pirate slaves or any kind of laborer.
Since she had chosen to become a pirate, she had to be prepared for everything. So, her target was ordinary people, who were also the cheapest type of slave in the slave market.
Human trafficking is considered a legal business here. Although it is not openly acknowledged in allied-kingdoms, it may be referred to by hidden names such as 'employment agencies'.
But here, it was basically stated openly.
Criminals and citizens of non-allied kingdoms are both considered trading objects here. As for citizens of allied-kingdoms, sorry, only citizens of non-allied kingdoms who are caught here are included, but this is just a cover-up by humans.
Nearly two hundred years ago, the Ryugu Kingdom of Fishman Island became an allied-kingdom of the World Government, but the selling price of Merfolk has always been the highest among all species. Whenever a merfolk appears, it is certain to fetch a high price at auction.
Olga and Elizabeth had a total of ten million berries, which was already a huge amount of pocket money.
There are also price standards for human trafficking. According to the prices in the next few decades, the starting price for an ordinary human at an auction is 500,000 berries. However, that is only the starting price at an auction, which is usually much lower than the actual value of the item.
The people that Olga was interested in had an average selling price of around one million berries. She only wanted to take a few people away, and quality was more important than quantity.
"Look at these people, they're all so skinny! And this one, I think he's about to die. How can you have the nerves to ask such a price?"
Since the Natjo Kingdom kidnapping incident, she changed all the patterns on her clothes. Now she's wearing a T-shirt with the Beasts Pirates' flag printed on it, and it's this design that made the slave traders on the other side keep their patience and explain.
They are not willing to offend any pirates who have territories in the New World, and Kaido had already joined this list.
"Miss, this price is already very cheap. Although these people are a bit thin, their health is not a problem. They just need a few days of recuperation. 10 million Berries for 8 people is already very cheap, and they can work without any problems.
"Fifteen, it's the final price. These are not high-quality goods at all. They are only worth this price."
"It's difficult for me to do this. Then, I can give you 13, but they can only be children. I'll also give you a free gift."
In the slave market, the price of women is generally higher than that of men. People in their prime were priced higher than the elderly or young ones. Olga is not interested in pirate slaves with powerful strength, so the deciding factors for pricing are age and appearance.
As Olga said, there is no such thing as "high-quality goods" here; those people have already been sent to auctions. The remaining ones have gone through the first round of screening.
He happened to have 13 brats left in his hands, who have unremarkable appearance and are aged between 12 and 13 which is neither too old nor too young. They were neither old enough to be considered adult laborers, nor young enough to be trained as trusted followers.
He is eager to get rid of this cumbersome group, knowing that they will only cost him money whether he trains them or whether they die in his hands. Upon noticing Olga's interest in taking them, he too intends to sell them off.
"Deal. What's the free gift?"
"Here, take this. It's supposed to be a treasure map, though I have no idea what sort of treasure it might lead you to." The merchant handed Olga a map and a chain. Slave collar, that kind of high quality item is not used in this place.
These people were only bound by ordinary chains.
"Hey! You two, stop wandering around and keep an eye on these people. I paid a hefty price to acquire them." Olga gave orders to several members of the Beast Pirates, knowing that they couldn't afford to let the captives go free, lest they fall back into the hands of the slave traders.
She was indeed an apprentice, but not just any ordinary apprentice. She was an Officer Candidate in reserve.
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