For the four seas, the highest rank is Commodore, and that's the Commodore of a Four Seas branch.
In Navy Headquarters, that's only the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
That's the peak for the Four Seas Marines; those with ability would have long been promoted to Navy Headquarters or a G-numbered branch.
For Navy Headquarters and G-numbered branches, Vice Admiral is the pinnacle for the vast majority of Marines.
Holding the authority of a base commander, a dedicated warship, and the right to lead troops independently, those higher than this position are already few and far between.
The configuration of Admirals has always been three, and those who can become Admirals are absolute monsters, usually sitting in that position for decades, not to mention the single Fleet Admiral.
Currently, within the entire Navy, there are not many people who hold the rank of Admiral.
He is just a thief. Petty theft and similar acts truly don't amount to much compared to the pirate plundering that often happens on this sea.
At least after being scared like that, he, who had just been trying to argue back, directly chose to defect, pulling his former accomplices to share the blame with him.
After a few simple pleasantries, Oran took Lyliana towards the direction of the Soap Bubble Park.
Like other specialties of Sabaody Archipelago, the Soap Bubble Park itself is not special, it's just that all the entertainment equipment is built based on bubbles.
The most eye-catching equipment is the bubble Ferris wheel here. As the Ferris wheel disk rotates, the gondolas made of bubbles slowly rise. When they reach the top, the surrounding scenery is unobstructed.
The distant sea sparkles, and the sunlight refracts through the soap bubbles to form rainbows. It is based on this view that the bubble Ferris wheel has become the main attraction of the Soap Bubble Park.
As for attractions like the bubble roller coaster and drop tower, Lyliana also experienced them, but her evaluation was average.
Terra had taken her on high-altitude dives; that feeling was simply incomparable to amusement park rides.
At this moment, on a park bench, Kate took out a comb and groomed her fur. She had just gotten off the roller coaster, and her fur looked a bit messy.
Lyliana, on the other hand, helped an ice cream boss get off work early and was currently holding an insulated bucket filled with vanilla ice cream in her arms.
From time to time, screams and laughter could be heard around them. At least they were having a great time at the Soap Bubble Park.
"Lyley, had enough fun?"
"Mhm, pretty much. Are we going back now?"
Licking the ice cream from the corner of her mouth, Lyliana looked around again.
She had basically tried all the attractions in the amusement park, and she had ridden the most unique Ferris wheel several times. There really wasn't anything she was reluctant to leave anymore.
"Yes, it's time to prepare to go back, but there's one more thing to do before we leave. We have to buy something special."
"Buy something? Didn't we already buy souvenirs? They're in my book."
"What we bought before were gifts. The things we're buying this time are different. Lyley, what do you think of this park?"
Kate, who was nearby, didn't interrupt. She knew many of Oran's habits, such as periodically entering a riddle-speaking mode and saying strange things.
And Lyliana, after thinking for a moment, didn't understand what Oran was hinting at, so she answered truthfully: "It's not bad. Everyone playing in the park is very happy. It feels like everyone is very joyful.
Dad, is there anything wrong with that?"
"No, that's very reasonable. Sabaody Archipelago is a transit island in the eyes of pirates, but for ordinary people, this island is just a special tourist island.
Everything has two sides. What you see is just the surface of Sabaody Archipelago, the part under the sun.
But under the sun, the shadow follows closely. Next, we are going to witness the reality hidden beneath this veil."
Click.
Lyliana was still thinking about what the reality hidden beneath the veil referred to, but she heard the sound of a gun being cocked. Kate's comb had turned into an automatic rifle at some point.
"Miaw, ready. Shall we make a fuss?"
Kate has indeed just been following Oran these past few years, appearing harmless and not having engaged in any excessive actions.
But this is only because in Kate's perception, Oran's plan is more important than her personal goals.
She is still striving towards the goal of becoming the greatest villain. Seeing Oran's intention, the opportunity is coming again.
"Kate, don't be so excited. Although I have that idea, it still depends on the situation.
Lyley, this world isn't as good as you see it. In a sense, it's rotten."
So far, Lyliana hasn't experienced overly complex battles. Although she has quite a few achievements, they were all against some useless mountain bandits and thieves.
Her highest achievement was giving San Juan Wolf an extra punch. All of this was fighting derived under rules.
Now, Lyliana hasn't truly seen how terrible things are hidden beneath the rules.
She will have to come into contact with these sooner or later. Oran believes that the day Lyliana gained new strength is a good time.
So, after she had her fill of fun, he planned to let her see something worse.
You should know that in Sabaody Archipelago, a full one-third of the area is an illegal zone.
With a trace of confusion, Lyliana followed Oran's steps.
As Oran went deeper, the number of tourists around gradually decreased, and the environment and public order gradually became chaotic.
A sign on the side blatantly read 'Marines Prohibited,' and street fights were very common.
If it was just stealing on the Tree Island before, then in the illegal zone, it was outright robbery.
Such an illegal zone exists right under the noses of the World Government's offices and Marine bases. If the World Government wanted to wipe it out, the Marines could complete all missions within an hour.
But it still exists. The birth of this illegal zone was originally fueled by the World Government.
Although World Government laws prohibit human trafficking and the existence of slaves, the place with the greatest demand for slaves in the world is Mary Geoise.
Along the way, Lyliana, who enjoyed resolving conflicts, broke up four meaningless fights and finally arrived in front of a special building.
Here, Lyliana saw many people dressed in luxurious clothes, and also many people wrapped up tightly. They all seemed to be anticipating something.
"Dad, is this a shopping center?"
"Yes, and no."
This is the auction house of Sabaody Archipelago. Of course, Doflamingo is still an unknown nobody at this time, and the boss behind this place is not him.
At this time, this auction house is not purely a human trafficking auction house; the things sold are quite varied.
Following the crowd, Oran and Lyliana entered the auction hall and found a relatively back position.
A leaflet was posted in front of each seat.
[Human trafficking, targeting criminals and nationals of non-Allied Nations.]
"Selling humans?! How can humans be treated as commodities..."
Lyliana's learning ability is excellent. At seven years old, she has no problem reading and writing, only unable to spell a few rare words.
Therefore, she could clearly see what was written on it, as well as the marked prices for various races below: humans starting at 500,000 Berries, expensive merfolk and giants, and ability users with variable prices...
"This is the bloody reality here, Lyley, a group of people who rely on power, trampling on the lives and freedom of others without scruple."
Targeting criminals and nationals of non-Allied Nations. This sentence sounds like there's no problem, after all, from the perspective of nationals of Allied Nations, non-Allied Nations have nothing to do with them.
But once this loophole is opened, no one can say clearly what will happen.
Ryugu Kingdom is an Allied Nation, and all merfolk in the world are people of this country, but merfolk are openly priced here.
That note was just nonsense, a fig leaf prepared by the people here for themselves, purely an act of burying one's head in the sand.
An Allied Nation might become a non-Allied Nation one day in the future, and it doesn't even need the national conditions to change.
As long as they are caught by these human traffickers, their identity is whatever they say it is.
Criminal, Allied Nation member? This kind of thing is just a matter of saying it.
Even shouting that you are from an Allied Nation is meaningless; no one will listen here.
Firefly Island's judgment in this regard is very strict. Whoever touches it dies. There have been no exceptions so far. Under this influence, human trafficking is inherently wrong in Lyliana's perception.
Not to mention that Piltover is currently a non-Allied Nation. According to the rules here, Lyliana and others could all be auctioned.
"But isn't this right under the noses of the World Government and the Marines..."
Lyliana has met many Marines. The cry of justice in Navy Headquarters has never stopped, and there are many people who truly protect others with their lives.
"This is the reality I told you about. The stronger the light, the darker the shadow. In seemingly clean and tidy places, there might be countless dirt hidden underneath."
"Hahaha, are you from some remote island? How can you say something so ridiculous?"
While Oran was lecturing Lyliana, bursts of laughter suddenly came from the front, and then a man wearing a top hat even turned around and started lecturing Oran.
"Existence is reasonable. Since the World Government allows it to exist here, it naturally defaults to its legality.
Something that even the World Government recognizes, what more do you have to say? Since you are so noble, why are you coming to this place..."
The man in the top hat didn't finish speaking, because the answer to him wasn't a person, but a gun barrel.
"Get lost."
Kate's gun barrel was pressed against his head. Judging from her finger on the trigger, if he dared to say another word, Kate would shoot without hesitation.
"Crude... crude..."
In the end, he didn't dare to say anything, just muttered quietly, and then sat far away.
Having frequented auction houses, he also knew that some desperadoes might appear here. It was just that Oran looked a bit easy to bully, so he didn't think in that direction, and it turned out he was also playing with his life.
For a time, the people around Oran all chose to change seats, leaving a large empty area here.
"Lyley, I told you before, absolute fairness is hard to find, but seeing injustice and no one speaking up is the true sadness of the world.
We will live in this world for a long time, and we have to make it a little better after all, and what we are doing is change."
Logically speaking, Oran should have patted Lyley's head at this time, but unfortunately, the height difference meant Oran could only choose to pat her knee.
"The stronger the light, the darker the shadow. However, when the midday sun is directly overhead, the shadow will obediently shrink into a corner.
So Lyley, do you understand what I mean about the correct use of power?"
The biggest difference between people and weapons is that they have their own thoughts and ideas. In this world, those who don't have a firm heart cannot become true powerhouses.
That's why Oran spent a lot of energy on Lyliana, so that she could grow into a reliable top powerhouse, rather than a disruptive unstable factor.
"Mhm, I think I understand. This kind of place should have the same fate as the human traffickers on Firefly Island, all completely destroyed."
At this time, Lyliana can only see the superficial symptoms without addressing the root cause, but for Oran, that's enough. After all, to address the root cause, the current foundation is not enough.
Coming here today was to let Lyliana see the dark side and prepare to make a big fuss. Anyway, even if he tore this place down, it wouldn't cause any consequences.
However, before Lyliana was ready to act, some special circumstances occurred.
"Hahaha, wait a moment, there's something I need here. If it gets too messy and I can't find it, that wouldn't be good. How about we wait until the auction is over before we act?"
A slightly familiar laugh came from behind Oran. Lyliana and Oran's quiet words hadn't spread, but they were heard by some stronger people, and it was even an "acquaintance" of Oran.
"You're sailing quite fast. You've already reached here?"
"Currently, we're looking for some clues, so we sped up a bit. We'll probably have to make another trip in the future."
The person who came was none other than Gol D. Roger. He had gotten some information and wanted to get some intelligence at this auction house.
Because the area around Oran was relatively empty, Roger came over here. He didn't expect to run into an acquaintance and hear some interesting topics.
"Dr. Oran, you really are an interesting King. This is the first time I've seen such a special royal family on my journey.
And thank you for your medicine. It's been a long time since I've experienced this feeling of not being tired."
Roger sat down casually on the side, talking about the previous trivial matters.
"It's just a transaction, no need to thank me. I do have a question now. Are you willing to help?"
"Oh? What is it?"
"How about you take responsibility for the consequences of making a big fuss here?"
Many times, pirates are the ready-made scapegoats. No one would question the Roger Pirates making a fuss at an auction house. After all, pirates are inherently unstable factors.
Listening to Oran, Roger was first stunned, then slapped his leg and burst into laughter.
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