One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 29 The Three Adorable Little Ones

When Ace returned from the forest, he saw a baby lying in his old cradle. Ace put down the hose and looked at Luffy with great curiosity. Luffy also looked at Ace with curiosity. The two stared at each other. Ace reached out and poked Luffy's face with his finger. Luffy drooled involuntarily and smiled especially cutely. Ace's face turned red with excitement.

"Ace, this is Luffy."

Moko then walked up behind Ace and reached out to smooth Ace's spiky hair. Ace looked at Moko with shining eyes, his voice tinged with excitement.

"Sister, he's so cute! (???????)"

Did Ace like Luffy?

"Yes, I like it!"

"How about Luffy lives with us from now on?"

Moko crouched down and pinched Ace's cheek. "Ace will be Luffy's older brother."

"Brother! Is he the same as sister?"

"Yes, just like how my sister loved Ace."

"Yes, I want to become the best older brother, just like my sister!"

"Ace will definitely be the best older brother. Now Ace is going to wash his hands and get ready to eat."

"Okay, let's eat!"

"ah!"

Upon hearing the word "eat," Luffy waved his short, chubby hands, his eyes sparkling, clearly a little foodie, which made Moko chuckle.

The house became much livelier after Luffy joined them. Ace would still run into the forest to play as usual, but he would come back much earlier each time. He would bring back a lot of small fish and shrimp, saying that they were for Luffy to eat. Luffy would grab them and put them in his mouth without caring whether they were raw or cooked, which would scare Moko into stopping him.

Moko pinched Luffy's cheek helplessly. "Luffy is such a little glutton. You can't eat raw food next time, you know?"

"Sister, sister, giggle giggle."

Luffy sucked his fingers and laughed happily, it was unclear whether he had listened or not. Ace stood to the side, seemingly knowing he had done something wrong, and lowered his head, not daring to look at Moko, his eyes darting around erratically. Moko did not seem to be blaming him, and instead smiled and pinched Ace's cheek.

"Ace plays with Luffy, and I'll go make something delicious for Ace and Luffy, using the little fish Ace brought back, okay?"

Upon discovering that Moko wasn't angry, Ace's expression immediately brightened, and he nodded happily.

"Ah."

Ace and Luffy played on the lawn. Moko smiled slightly, carried a small wooden bucket into the room, cleaned the fish in the bucket, removed the internal organs, leaving only the tender fish meat. She chopped the fish meat and some vegetables into small pieces, added cornstarch and soy sauce, mixed them evenly, stirred until it became sticky, and then used a spoon to scoop out round balls and put them into boiling water to cook. Once the fish balls floated, they were ready to be taken out of the pot.

Since it was for two children, Moko was made relatively light, and the soup base was fish soup that had been cooked in the morning. Moko made the fish balls for Luffy into smaller pieces so that Luffy could easily bite them.

The weather in the yard was lovely. Mo Ke placed the fish balls on the small table in the yard and dampened a towel to wipe the two little ones' hands clean.

"It's still a little hot, Ace, blow on it before you eat it."

"Ah."

Ace obediently picked up a fish ball with a spoon and blew on it, puffing out his cheeks and blowing so hard that the soup splashed everywhere, turning his face red, but the fish ball remained unharmed. Moko shook her head with amusement.

"Ace, blow gently when you blow."

As she spoke, Moko gave a demonstration. Ace blinked and imitated Moko by blowing air, but this time he blew much lighter, and no soup splashed out. Ace put the slightly cooled fish ball into his mouth and then looked at Moko excitedly, asking for praise. Moko nodded affirmatively and then picked up a spoon to feed Luffy.

Sunlight filters through the leaves and falls to the ground. A gentle breeze blows, and the light and shadows dart about. The jasmine and hibiscus in the garden sway gently, filling the air with their fragrance.

When Moko goes to Windmill Village, Luffy always likes to come along. Because he is still young, Luffy spends more time with Moko than with Ace. Moko follows Luffy's lead. Luffy is still too young, and Moko is not comfortable with him going to the forest with Ace. She has to wait until Luffy is older.

Luffy was loved by the villagers since he was a child, and they would often give him baby snacks. As a result, the little foodie Luffy ran to the village even more often. Seeing that Luffy liked to run to Windmill Village, if the weather was nice, Moko would often take Luffy down in the morning and Mika would pick him up from the mountain in the evening. Luffy enjoyed this very much. Every time he came back from Windmill Village, he would bring a lot of delicious food and fun toys, all of which were gifts from the villagers. Moko could only helplessly pinch Luffy's cheeks at this time, and then make a lot of snacks for Luffy to take down the mountain and share with everyone. The villagers had no reason to refuse the snacks that Luffy shared, and they were just right as a return gift.

On Ace's fifth birthday, Ace brought home a new friend. Luffy hid behind Moko, hugging Moko's leg and peeking out with his little head to watch Ace and the blond boy. He held a milk cake that Moko had given him in his free hand and kept stuffing it into his mouth while talking.

"Ace, who is he? (chewing)"

Luffy blinked, looking at the blond boy with a puzzled expression. Ace scratched his head, trying to find the right words.

"Sister, this is Sabo, my good friend. He has nowhere to stay right now, so could you..."

Ace spoke very softly, seemingly a little embarrassed. After all, his sister was already exhausted from taking care of him and Luffy, but Sabo was a very good friend, and it would be too pitiful for them to be out there exposed to the elements.

Moko had gentle eyes and brows. She had always known about Sabo's existence. She never interfered with Ace's friendships. She had raised Ace, so there was no need to worry about his values. However, this was still a pleasant surprise, since it was the first time Ace had brought a friend home.

"Hello, Sabo, I'm Moko, Ace and Luffy's older sister. You can call me 'older sister' too."

"Yes, sister!"

Sabo immediately stiffened, his eyes filled with a determination as if he were about to join the Party. Ace had told him that his sister was very gentle and beautiful, and that he would definitely agree, but was it really okay to just say so directly that he wanted to come and stay?

"Alright, stop standing there like an idiot, wash your hands and come in to eat. I made lots of delicious food today. Luffy, how about you take Ace and Sabo to wash their hands?"

Moko patted Luffy's head, and Luffy looked up with a big smile.

"Ok!"

Dinner was sumptuous. Since it was Ace's birthday, Moko had specially made a big cake. After Ace made his wish, Luffy couldn't wait any longer. His eyes were only on the cake; he had been craving it for a long time.

Moko cut the cake and divided it among the three children. Seeing them eating happily, Moko had a faint smile on her lips. A child's growth is woven from countless bonds. The older Ace gets, the more all sorts of people he will meet. There is only so much she can do. In the future, Ace will have to walk his own path and find his own place. When Ace finds his place, perhaps she can leave in peace.

The three little ones have big appetites, and not a single bite of the delicious meal was wasted. Moko was initially worried that they wouldn't be able to finish it, but now it seems she'll have to cook more in the future. There will be three little foodies in the family from now on.

Moko pulled out a new nightgown from Ace's closet and held it up against Sabo. Sabo stiffened, extremely shy. Seeing that it looked about right, Moko nodded.

“Sabo and Ace are about the same size, so wear this. It’s Ace’s new pajamas. Ace hasn’t worn it yet. I’ll take your measurements again tomorrow and make you a few more outfits.”

"Yes, thank you, sister."

Sabo accepted the clothes and thanked her, still somewhat reserved. Moko patted Sabo's head and said, "Go take a shower. Ace, help Luffy wash up. I'll go get ready first."

"Leave it to me, sister."

Ace patted his chest, looking every bit the big brother. Moko closed the door and went downstairs. While cleaning up the dishes, Moko soon heard the sounds of the three little ones playing and splashing around upstairs. Moko shook her head with a helpless smile and quickly cleaned up the mess on the first floor.

That night, Moko had planned to prepare a separate room for Sabo, but seeing the three little ones whispering to each other, she decided to sleep in the same room with them. Luffy wasn't shy and quickly became friends with Sabo. Watching the three little ones playing together, Moko felt a sense of relief.

Back in her room, Moko took out the documents she had prepared earlier and reorganized the plans she had written over the past few days. Five years had passed, and it was time for Yubi and the others to go out and develop their careers. However, Moko was worried that Yubi and the others would not be familiar with the process, so she prepared a planner. At least for the first two years, there was no need to worry about any major problems. As for how to develop after that, that would be up to them.

The next day, after breakfast, Ace and Sabo took the water pipes and the snacks that Moko had prepared and went into the mountains. Luffy was sent to Windmill Village. After seeing the three children off, Moko picked up the documents and headed to the Goa Kingdom.

The orphanage has now been turned into a small shop, which usually sells handicrafts and snacks. The shop is named after the character "茉" (mo), and it is called "茉香" (Mo Xiang). However, after today, the shop will be closed and reopened in another place.

"This is a rough action plan for the next two years, and this box contains your initial funding. Let me see how much you can achieve with what you've learned over the past five years."

Moko handed the schedule to Yubi. The children were still young, but they could handle ordinary pirates. If they couldn't even beat ordinary pirates after five years of sword training, they either had extremely poor talent or hadn't trained seriously at all.

As for the people to sail the sea, Moko had already found them. Over the past five years, slave traders had passed through this border kingdom from time to time, and Moko would rescue some of them from time to time. Among them were quite capable people. Moko did not force everyone to stay. The people who stayed among the rescued slaves were barely enough to sail the ship, and with the trained children, there should be no problem setting sail.

"Don't worry, Sister Moko, we will definitely cultivate the largest force for you."

Yubi made a serious promise, his eyes firm. Compared to his youthful naivety five years ago, his eyes now held a hint of sharpness. Moko gently patted Yubi's head.

"Please be careful on the road and take good care of yourselves."

"Yes."

Moko arranged for Yubi's activities to focus on the East Blue, with expansion and development in the remaining three seas. The Grand Line was not being considered at the moment, as it was too dangerous for the crew's current strength and not suitable for Yubi and her companions. They would have to wait until their power had developed to a certain level or until she set sail before considering it.

After seeing Yubi and the others off, Moko's days became almost completely leisurely. She usually taught the three little ones swordsmanship and physical skills, chatted with Dadan, knitted sweaters, and delivered wine to Windmill Village when it was time. Makino would also often come up the mountain to accompany Moko and take care of the three little ones. Her days were quite peaceful.

However, Moko is not used to having a quiet life, because once she is idle, she is always plagued by nightmares. Moko gets up very early every day. Before the stars have set, Moko has already gotten up to start practicing swordsmanship. Apart from spending time with the three little ones, Moko keeps an eye on the development of Yubi and the others. When she encounters a difficult situation, Moko will also take appropriate action. At night, after the three little ones have fallen asleep, Moko will start to cultivate her healing power.

Moko's healing power will grow as she grows, but she has become accustomed to harming herself to cultivate. Since Roger and Rouge passed away, Moko has been like a rootless duckweed, every day is like a dream, illusory and fleeting, always feeling that she will turn into fragments and disappear in the next second. Only when she feels pain can Moko feel that she is still truly alive.

Moko sat on the swing in the garden, looking up at the bright moon obscured by dark clouds. The bleeding wound on her arm gradually healed, leaving only dried bloodstains. The bloodstains that dripped onto the ground quickly seeped into the soil and disappeared without a trace.

"Pfft~"

Mihua nudged Moke's hand, her voice full of worry. Moke's eyes were full of exhaustion, and her once bright eyes were now veiled with a thin mist, lacking their usual brilliance.

"It's okay, Mihua, it's okay..."

Whether she was speaking to Mihua or to herself, Moke raised her arm to cover her eyes, concealing the loneliness that filled them. Mihua lay quietly at Moke's feet, keeping her company. The night fell silent once more...