One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 18 The Hatched Sweet Fruit

Time swayed by as they waited. Shanks, as usual, sat by the window, flipping through the newspaper in his hand. Momo, who had been lying down, suddenly stood up and pounced on the bedside. As if she had guessed something, Shanks put down the newspaper and strode to the bedside, looking at Momo with expectant eyes.

Moko's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyes struggled to open slowly. Her orange-pink eyes were misty and somewhat dazed, clearly not fully awake yet. Shanks suppressed his excitement and spoke in a barely audible voice.

"Moko-chan~"

The gentle call, as soft as the wind, gradually brought Moko back to her senses. Turning her head, she saw Shanks with complex emotions in his eyes. Moko was a little confused. Why did Shanks look scared?

Shanks?

While Moko was in a deep sleep, her body was maintained by receiving nutritional supplements. At the same time, due to the healing power within Moko's body, she did not experience the side effects of prolonged sleep, so Moko was unaware that she had been asleep for nearly two months.

Upon hearing Moko's voice, Shanks couldn't help but hug her tightly, his body trembling slightly. Only when he felt the soft, lively little person in his arms did Shanks's wavering heart finally settle back down.

Looking at the unfamiliar room around her and Shanks' unusual behavior, she could roughly guess what had happened. Moko reached out and hugged Shanks back, gently patting his back to soothe him.

Golden sunlight streamed in, and large jasmine blossoms were in full bloom outside the window. Shanks took a while to recover, then rested his chin on Moko's head and recounted the events of the past two months. Moko's heart was in turmoil. She had actually slept for two months without feeling anything at all. She never imagined that so much had happened in just two months.

"Moko-chan, do you know why you've fallen into a deep sleep?"

Moko shook her head. She didn't know why this was happening. Although she had slept for two months, she didn't feel anything at all. It was as if her time had been frozen.

"It's okay, it's alright if you don't know. As long as Moko-chan is alright..."

"I'm sorry, have I caused Shanks trouble again?"

Moko whispered softly in Shanks' ear, his ear brushing against her gentle breath. Shanks felt a tickle in his heart. He lifted his head slightly from Moko's shoulder to look directly into her bright eyes, and gently stroked the tip of her nose with his finger.

"Moko-chan has never been a problem for me; she's an incredibly precious treasure to me..."

"Pfft!"

Before she could finish speaking, Mihua flapped her wings and suddenly started circling the cat's nest. Moko and Shanks looked over in confusion, only to see Mihua circling for a long time before finally leaning her body into the cat's nest and making no other move for a long time.

"Puffed rice?"

Moko tentatively called out, and then watched as Mihua crawled out of her cat bed and walked up to Moko. Before she could react, a pink ball of fur, about half the size of a baby, peeked out from Mihua's thick fur.

The pink pom-pom looks just like the rice flower, only the color is slightly different. The pink pom-pom's fur is pink all over its body and its wings are white. Moko's eyes sparkled with admiration. What an incredibly cute creature this is! She actually has two of these adorable pom-poms.

"Did this hatch from that egg?"

Shanks blinked, clearly not expecting it to be a fluffy egg. Moko reached out and picked up the pink fluffy ball from Mika's body. It was small enough to fit perfectly in her arms. The pink fluffy ball stretched and snuggled against Moko, finding a comfortable spot to curl up into a ball. Its adorable appearance instantly melted Moko's heart.

"Shanks, how about naming this child Sweet Fruit?"

Moko gently stroked Sweetie's fur, her eyes overflowing with affection. Shanks chuckled softly, nodded, and freed one hand to stroke Sweetie.

"Listen to Moko-chan, little sweetie, please take care of me from now on."

"Pfft~"

When Bucky returned from the port, he saw Moko sitting at the table eating, and two furballs playing happily beside her. Shanks stood behind Moko, braiding her hair. His nimble fingers weaved through the soft strands of hair, and a perfect fishtail braid was quickly formed.

"Momo, Moko-chan!! You're awake!"

Bucky's body was so shocked that it split apart, and his upper body bounced directly in front of Moko. Moko gently patted Bucky's head and smiled slightly.

"Bucky, I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Waaaaah, thank goodness you're alright, Moko-chan! You scared me to death!"

Shanks quickly stepped forward and pulled Buggy away from Moko. "It's okay to cry, don't get physical!" Shanks was deeply exasperated by Buggy's habit of crying and throwing himself at Moko. "Moko is his, you know!"

The room immediately erupted into chaos, becoming incredibly lively. Moko was amused by the two people being stretched to their limits, and her melodious laughter made Shanks and Buggy exchange a glance before they also joined in the laughter.

Life on the island wasn't boring. After Moko woke up, Shanks and Buggy were even less bored. They often took Moko around the island to play. Moko would also often buy a lot of ingredients to cook a lot of delicious food for the two of them. The three of them lived an extremely ordinary and mundane life on the island, just like any other children. But the children on the ship would eventually return to the ship. Every day, the three of them would stand at the port and wait, hoping to see the familiar ship appear.

The waiting period wasn't long. A week after Moko woke up, news of Roger's circumnavigation of the world spread far and wide, causing a sensation.

"The captain must be on his way back. We'll be back on the ship soon."

"Ah."

Moko nestled in Shanks' arms and nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she looked at the news in the newspaper. "Great! Daddy has fulfilled his dream! That's wonderful!"

"Hey, what do you guys think the Great Treasure will be?"

Bucky's eyes sparkled with curiosity about this last treasure of the world. He wondered if the ship would be overflowing with treasure when the captain returned.

Shanks shook his head helplessly, while Moko smiled sweetly, her voice as refreshing as the approaching spring.

"If Bucky is curious, then let's go and see it together sometime."

"Yes! It's a promise. We must go find the Great Treasure together in the future."

Bucky raised his glass, and Moko followed suit with her juice glass. The two then turned to look at Shanks, who smiled and picked up his flask as well.

"It's a promise, cheers!"

"boom!"

The three raised their glasses and clinked them together, smiles lingering on their faces. A sea breeze carried a lingering floral fragrance, and with the wind's memory, their promise was blown to the sea. The promise witnessed by the sea would never be broken, and their adventure had only just begun.

As the winter snow was about to fall, a familiar ship finally appeared on the sea. The three of them were overjoyed. As soon as the ship docked, Roger gave Moko a big bear hug.

"My little Moko, you're finally awake! How are you feeling? Are you alright? I've missed you so much!"

"Dad, I'm fine. Did you enjoy traveling around the world? Was the treasure hunt as exciting as you imagined?"

"Of course! It's a really exciting treasure! Little Mo can go check it out with Shanks and the others sometime, hahaha!"

Roger patted Moko and Shanks on the head, a barely perceptible hesitation flashing in his eyes, but he finally made up his mind, "Moko, Shanks, I've decided to disband the pirate crew."

"!? Captain, why is this happening? We've clearly found the One Piece, haven't we?"

Shanks was puzzled, but then seemed to understand something. His voice grew softer. Moko had already sensed Roger's physical condition; he was at his limit. Moko gritted her teeth, suppressed the bitterness in her heart, and took Shanks' hand to comfort him silently.

Roger looked at the two children with their deep bond, a faint smile on his face. "Shanks, I will take Moko away from me later. Once you are confident that you have the power to protect Moko, take her away from me."

"!!"

Shanks was completely stunned. Not only was the pirate crew being disbanded, but Moko was also leaving? Shanks looked at Moko with some panic.

"Moko, you go to Rayleigh's side first. I need to talk to Shanks."

Roger rubbed Moko's head. Moko glanced at Shanks with concern, nodded, and went to the other side. Shanks' voice was almost squeezed out of his throat, suppressing the surging emotions in his body.

"Captain, why? I don't understand..."

Shanks couldn't understand why the captain could so easily say "disband," nor could he understand why Moko had to leave. He was completely baffled.

"Shanks, you said it before, that you would definitely sail to the final island in your own ship, and before you can get there, you have to wait for that person to appear... In the future, there will definitely be such a person. Let me see, Shanks. My time is running out. You will carry on my will. The future belongs to you. Go and pursue your freedom. Let me see what kind of future you will create."

Hearing Roger's words filled with farewell, Shanks understood that his captain's time was truly running out. He couldn't deceive himself anymore; his most respected captain was about to leave him, and this farewell might be forever.

Shanks grabbed the brim of his hat and pulled it down, trying to hide his tears. Roger, with a kind expression, gently patted Shanks' head.

"Shanks, I'm entrusting Moko's future to you."

The captain is a complete idiot, how could he say such things so easily? Shanks gritted his teeth and swallowed all his sobs.

Moko looked at the crying Shanks, bit her lower lip, and stopped herself from going forward. Rayleigh gently patted Moko's head. Moko looked at Rayleigh with some sadness, her voice also trembling with tears.

"Uncle Raleigh, did you know?"

"Well, don't worry, Xiao Mo, it won't be long. People who make promises always keep them. Your bond with Shanks will never be broken because of this. You are children of the sea."

Looking at Shanks, who was trying to hold back his tears, Moko felt a pang of sadness in her heart. Was she going to leave Shanks? The longest she had ever been apart from Shanks was only three days. How long would this separation last? When would she see Shanks again?

Rayleigh watched Moko and Shanks, and sighed quietly. Forcing two children who had grown up together to be separated was indeed cruel, but it was also the best way to protect them. The two, who had the strongest bond, would surely meet again in the near future.