One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 108 Your Belonging

Each time the merchant ship emerged from the Fishman Island, its final destination was uncertain. Once the ship had surfaced, all that could be seen in the distance was a small, barren island. The town on the island appeared dilapidated and dirty, with ruins everywhere, suggesting that it was an island that had suffered from war. Moko put down her binoculars, pondered for a moment, and then looked at Yubi.

"Let's rest on the island before returning to Chambord."

"Okay, Sister Moko."

Yubi nodded and gestured to the helmsman, who nodded in agreement and quickly changed course, heading towards the barren island.

Because of the war, the island was devastated. With supplies scarce, murder and robbery were commonplace. Many children starved to death and lay dead on both sides of the road. Ruins covered the entire town, and there was no place to bury the children.

The scene was too horrific. When the ship docked, the emaciated people on the island all stared at Moko and her group. But when they saw that the people behind Moko were carrying weapons, those who wanted to rush forward stopped in their tracks. Moko could clearly see the emotions in their eyes: fear, longing, and a desperate determination to fight to the death.

Mo wasn't a heartless person. Seeing this, she whispered a few words in Yubi's ear. Yubi nodded and ordered the crew to bring out the food from the ship and begin to distribute it in an orderly manner. The hungry people were initially a little scared, but in the end, hunger overcame fear. After the first person stepped forward, people followed one after another. With the intimidation of the people holding weapons, there was no fighting.

Seeing that the food distribution was proceeding smoothly and everything was in an orderly manner, Moko led the ship's doctor to begin bandaging the wounded. In an instant, the port, which had been filled with an atmosphere of despair, finally had a touch of vibrant hope.

"Get the hell out of my way."

A fierce voice suddenly came, and a thin child was shoved hard to the ground. A large patch of skin on his palm was immediately torn open, and blood could be seen faintly. Although it hurt terribly, the boy held back his tears. He knew, he had known since he was a child, that crying was the most useless thing to do on this island.

"You're the one distributing the food."

The man looked Moko up and down, his eyes gleaming with lewdness. Moko frowned slightly, but did not rush to attack. She calmly bandaged the wounds of the injured person beside her.

"Now this ship is mine, and you are mine too."

As the man spoke, he reached out to grab Moko. Moko was already thinking about how to cut off that hand when the boy from before suddenly rushed over and blocked Moko's way.

He knew he couldn't beat the man in front of him, but he couldn't let his sister be taken away by this man. All the girls in the town had been captured by this scumbag, and every night they could hear heart-wrenching screams coming from his house. His sister gave him food and bandaged his wounds. He had to protect his sister.

"Sister, you should leave quickly."

"Heh, brat, how dare you stop me."

The man raised his fist to strike the boy, but Moko pulled the boy behind her, a dagger already in her hand.

"Second-round flower!"

A clear female voice rang out, and two arms suddenly sprouted from the man's body, pinning him to the ground. Mo Ke raised an eyebrow and looked at the tall girl who appeared behind the man. The girl had her arms crossed, but due to hunger, her figure seemed even more slender than Mo Ke's. Her short black hair was neatly draped behind her head, and her bone structure was very beautiful. Just from her thin appearance, it was clear that she was a very beautiful woman.

Moko smiled kindly at the girl. Although she wanted to talk, she had other problems to deal with now. With a slight movement of her hand holding the dagger, the man's arm was instantly separated from his body, and bright red blood gushed out.

"ah!!"

The intense pain caused the man to scream like a pig being slaughtered. Moko disgustedly flicked the blood off the dagger and coldly looked at the man writhing on the ground in pain. A terrifying pressure weighed heavily on the man.

The man's eyes gradually turned to fear as he looked at Moko. He never expected that a woman who looked so gentle and weak could be so strong. She was like a monster. It seemed that he couldn't withstand the pressure and he fainted. But no one woke him up or stopped his bleeding. This man was an accomplice to evil and had killed their family. They all hated him so much that they wanted to drink his blood and eat his flesh.

"Are you alright? Thank you for protecting me earlier."

Moko crouched down and spoke to the little boy in a soft, melodious voice that had a calming effect.

"I...I'm fine. Besides, I didn't even manage to protect my sister. My sister is amazing..."

As the boy spoke, he lowered his head, feeling somewhat guilty. He hid his dirty hands behind his back; he was too dirty, and it wouldn't be good if he got his sister's clothes dirty.

Moko looked at the scratches on the boy's hand, a smile playing on her lips. She took the boy's hand, took a damp towel, gently wiped away the dirt, and wrapped it with gauze. Her movements were natural, without any sign of disgust.

"How could that be? Didn't you already stand up for me?"

Moke tied a knot in the gauze and looked into the boy's shy eyes. "What's your name, little one?"

"Eloi".

The boy's voice was low; it was his first time being so close to a beautiful woman, and he seemed a little embarrassed.

"Elova, yes, I've got it."

Moko patted Elova's head, stood up, and looked at the girl who had just helped her.

Let me bandage it for you.

Moko pointed to her arm. The girl looked at her arm and saw a wound that had appeared sometime earlier and was still bleeding. She was about to refuse, but looking at Moko's gentle eyes, she finally nodded.

Moko carefully cleaned the wound, took out some medicine and applied it thinly, her soft voice ringing in the girl's ears.

"Thank you for your help just now."

"Even if I don't help, it seems you can handle it yourself."

"Really? But you still helped, didn't you?" Moko began wrapping the gauze around the girl's arm. The girl remained silent and didn't reply.

"My name is Moko, what's your name?"

"..." The girl looked at Moko without answering, and Moko was not angry. She tied the gauze and showed a gentle smile.

"Thank you."

After saying that, the girl got up to leave, not wanting to stay any longer. But before she had taken two steps, she collapsed. Moko quickly caught the unconscious girl and used her healing power to quickly check her condition. Low blood sugar?

"Sister, what's wrong with this sister?" Elova looked at the unconscious girl with some concern.

"It's alright, this lady just hasn't eaten for too long."

Elova nodded knowingly. There were many hungry people on the island, and it was extremely common for people to faint from hunger. Elova handed over the bread she hadn't eaten yet. Facing Moko's questioning gaze, Elova spoke somewhat shyly.

"This is for my older sister."

As he said this, Eloi's eyes remained fixed on the bread. He pursed his lips and swallowed. He knew what it felt like to be hungry. His sister had also starved to death because there was no food. But he could hold on for a few more days, so he decided to give this to his sister first.

Moko shook her head and gently stroked Elova's somewhat messy hair.

"Elova, eat up. There's enough food. You won't go hungry anymore."

"……Um."

Hearing Moko's words, a bitter feeling welled up in her heart. Elova's eyes reddened slightly. She quickly lowered her head and wiped her eyes haphazardly so that Moko wouldn't see. She also carefully put the bread back into the small bag in her arms and ate the bread crumbs in her hand with care.

Moko gently patted Elova's head with a touch of heartache. Moko always felt a pang of tenderness for children. Perhaps seeing them reminded her of her younger brothers at home. If she had also left with her parents back then, would Ace have lived such a lonely and miserable life? Just thinking about these things made Moko's heart ache.

After giving instructions on what to do on the island, Moko picked up the girl in a princess carry. She was so light, almost weightless. Moko even felt she could clearly feel the girl's bones. Despite having a Devil Fruit ability, she took such good care of herself. What a worrying child.

When the girl opened her eyes again, she was already lying in bed. There was a wooden ceiling, a soft bed, and a faint floral fragrance in the air.

The girl turned her head and saw the jasmine on the table. The snow-white jasmine was in full bloom, and a gentle breeze stirred the wind chimes by the window, while the champagne-colored curtains swayed softly.

Are you awake?

Moko brought in the porridge and placed it on the table. The aroma wafted through the air, and the girl's stomach growled loudly. She quickly pressed her stomach, her face turning red.

"I made some porridge. You have low blood sugar, so it would be better if you ate something first."

Moko's eyes held a gentle smile, like the warm spring sun shining on one's heart. It was as if a switch had been flipped, and the grievances in one's heart burst forth, making one want to cry. The girl turned her head away and did not reply to Moko's words.

"No matter where you go, who you're looking for, or what you're doing, you need to be well-fed to have the energy. You can't let the people who care about you worry."

Mo Ke ladled the porridge into a bowl. A gentle breeze lifted the strands of hair on Mo Ke's forehead, and her watery eyes rippled, shimmering into the girl's gaze.

"Robin."

"Ok?"

"My name is Robin."

"Okay, Robin, dinner's ready."

The gentle call was like a mother's call; the sweet porridge was mixed with the salty taste of tears; sunlight streamed into the room, making it warm and cozy; everything felt like a dream.

Moko stayed on the island for a week, providing food and medical care to everyone without asking for anything in return. Robin watched as Moko treated one person after another, and finally sighed and began to help out.

"Thank you, Robin."

Seeing Robin help, Moko smiled brightly. Robin blushed slightly and turned his head away, looking a little arrogant. Moko smiled and didn't continue teasing Robin.

A week later, the additional ship that Yubi had called for arrived. Moko gave everyone a choice: they could stay and rebuild their homes, and she would leave enough supplies; or they could come with her, and she would provide them with work to ensure they would never go hungry again.

The islanders discussed for a while and then pushed the children onto the boat. They were old, and no matter what their homes had become, this was still their home. They had to rebuild their homes, but the children couldn't suffer with them. Only by following the girl in front of them could the children have a way out and a future.

"Miss Moko, the children are in your care."

The oldest man spoke shakily, and then tried to kneel down before Moko, but Moko quickly helped him up.

"No need for that. I will keep my promise, and I will take good care of these children."

"Okay, okay, thank you, Miss Moko."

With tears in his eyes, the old man felt a deep sense of gratitude as this war-torn island, forgotten by many, finally saw the light of salvation. Those who should have died in the war now had a chance to live again.

"Robin, are you really not coming with me?"

"No, my identity is very troublesome."

"I don't mind."

Robin smiled and shook his head, his eyes full of determination. Seeing Robin like this, Moko stopped trying to persuade him and gave him a hug.

"If you need anything, come find me at Jasmine. Jasmine will always be your safe haven. If Robin ever finds his own place to belong, be sure to tell me."

Robin held Moko in her arms, her eyes slightly moist. After that incident, she had been constantly on the run, and everyone regarded her as a demon. But when Moko heard her name and heard about the incident, nothing changed. It was as if it was just a trivial matter, and she firmly told her that she had a safe harbor.

"Yes, I will definitely tell Moko about it when the time comes... I'm leaving."

"Be careful on the road."

"Sister Moko, aren't Sister Robin coming with us?"

Elova walked to Moko's side, looked up at her with a puzzled expression, and watched her slender figure gradually disappear into the distance. A smile appeared in Moko's eyes.

"Robin has gone to find a place where she can rest in peace."

"But it's very reassuring to be around Sister Moko."

Moko chuckled and ruffled Elova's hair. "Elova, everyone has their own place to belong. Robin's place isn't me, you know."

Elova didn't understand, but she was sure that what Sister Moko said was right. "Then my home belongs to Sister Moko."

"Hahaha, really?"

"Yes, I also want to become as amazing as Yubi-nii and help Moko-neechan do lots and lots of things."

"Okay, but before that, Elova needs to eat well, grow up healthy, and be well so that your sister can be at ease."

"Um〃?〃!"