One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 3 Unable to Live Alone

Moonlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the silent night. The dull thuds of flesh striking flesh echoed across the deck as two figures exchanged blows, each attack aimed with full force, striking the other's vitals without yielding an inch. Their fists and feet rained down like a storm, making the surrounding air tense and distorted.

Moko, held by Shanks, stood on the corner of the second-floor balcony, quietly watching the battle without swords.

Barrett suddenly threw a heavy punch, like a cannonball being fired. The sound of air exploding could be faintly heard. Roger did not dodge, but just smiled slightly and clenched his right fist at an astonishing speed to meet the punch.

Roger's seemingly casual punch forced Barrett back several steps, causing him to collapse to the ground, his eyes filled with undisguised ambition and admiration.

"You are indeed very strong, but one day I will defeat you and become the strongest man in the world, Roger!"

Barrett's eyes looked somewhat fierce, but his voice was filled with intense admiration.

Roger grinned and turned to look at Barrett, his smile unrestrained, showing no sign that Barrett's words were offensive.

"You're very capable. Bring it on anytime, Barrett!"

Upon receiving Roger's affirmation, Barrett's eyes blazed with an unwavering determination and a resolute belief in victory. It was a declaration of war against the future, and also a sign of respect for the towering figure before him.

"Looks like the outcome is decided. Time to go back to sleep, Moko-chan."

Shanks nuzzled Moko's forehead, then carried her toward the room, seemingly unconcerned about what would happen next.

"Eek?" Aren't you going to keep watching? It's not over yet.

Moko grabbed Shanks's finger and shook it, seemingly puzzled. Shanks quickened his pace and returned to the room. The outcome of the battle was never in doubt; that person was no match for the captain. If Moko hadn't insisted on staying up to watch, Shanks would never have gone. Right now, nothing was more important than getting Moko to sleep.

Shanks wasn't worried at all that the captain would lose, and the result was exactly as expected. Knowing the outcome, Shanks kept an eye on Moko the whole time, and he even counted how many times she yawned. Luckily, it ended early, otherwise he didn't know how long he would have stayed up. Mr. Rayleigh had said that children shouldn't stay up late.

(Author passing by~ My dears, get some rest early too (*°w°*)～)

Shanks lay on the outside of the bed, gently patting Moko. As a genius boy who learns everything quickly, his skills in coaxing Moko to sleep were entirely self-taught.

Moko wasn't a real baby, so she wouldn't fuss like other babies. It was well past Moko's bedtime, and with Shanks putting her to sleep, Moko's eyes slowly closed uncontrollably, her breathing gradually calmed down, and the random thoughts in her mind subsided as she fell asleep.

Speaking of which, Daddy's dad is really powerful. The other guy can destroy a country by himself, but he's nothing compared to Daddy's dad. That means Daddy's dad also has the power to destroy a country! No wonder his bounty is so high and the Navy comes to arrest him every day. It turns out I've joined an amazing pirate crew.

Looking at the sleeping Moko, Shanks' eyes softened. He pulled the thin blanket over Moko and then fell into a deep sleep himself.

The restaurant was bustling in the morning, with everyone gathering to eat. They always seemed to have endless interesting stories to tell. Moko sat in Shanks' lap, holding her milk bottle, her big, round eyes curiously watching Barrett sitting opposite her. For the past month, Barrett had been constantly challenging Daddy Slump, and although he hadn't won even once, he didn't seem to have any intention of giving up. He really had a lot of perseverance!

Moko's gaze was so intense that Barrett tried his best to ignore it, turning his head to see what his idol was doing. What he saw was Roger, whom he admired, playing with a child...

Okay, although he didn't really understand what was so fun about teasing a child. After all, a baby who couldn't even walk was too fragile. A light punch could probably kill her. He really didn't understand why a pirate ship would keep a child.

Moko had no idea what Barrett was thinking, but the contempt Barrett was emanating from her was extremely strong. Moko blinked. She was indeed very weak, but such obvious contempt would still hurt her, okay?

"Little Moko is so cute today. How about Daddy lifts you up high later?"

Roger still hasn't realized that his current height is more like bungee jumping for Moko. When Moko heard "lift up," she quickly came to her senses, thought about how many meters it was like to bungee jump, and decisively turned around and snuggled into Shanks' arms, while turning her head to look at Roger accusingly.

"Yeah ah!"

"Hmm? (＠゜▽゜@)"

Roger, who had never learned baby talk, looked at Shanks with confusion. Shanks reached out to protect Moko's back so she wouldn't fall, before explaining.

"Captain, Moko-chan is too small. You lift her up too high every time, and she gets scared."

"Yeah!"

Moko nodded vigorously, her heart filled with immense admiration for Shanks. She hadn't expected Shanks to actually understand her meaning. Had he specifically learned baby language? Sensing Moko's adoring gaze, Shanks smiled with a delighted expression.

"So that's how it is!"

Roger suddenly realized and stroked his chin, remembering how he could throw Shanks higher when they were kids and nothing happened to him. Are boys more resilient? (Rayleigh: Looks like I didn't beat him up enough back then θ＼（；￢_￢）)

"Hahaha, as expected of Shanks, he can understand what Moko is saying now."

Dongjino brought out a lot more food and looked at Moko with loving eyes.

"After all, Shanks has been taking care of Moko for the past few months, and Moko loves Shanks the most, right?"

Jaba gently rubbed Moko's head, and Moko happily raised her little hand in response.

"Ah!... Shanks!"

"!!!"

Moko uttered each word clearly, and everyone stood up abruptly, staring intently at her. Shanks was completely stunned. He had indeed been teaching Moko to speak every day, but this was the first time he had heard her call his name, the first time he had ever felt that his name sounded so beautiful, and the first time he had ever felt so happy.

Looking at the stunned crowd, Moko tilted her head, not understanding what was going on, why everyone looked like they were facing a great enemy.

"ah?"

"Ahhh, Xiao Mo can talk now!"

"Little Moke, I am Jia Ba. Come on, Little Moke, repeat after me, Jia Ba."

"Little Moko, don't listen to Jaba, learn from me, Dong, Ji, Nuo."

"Go away, Moko-chan should call me first. Moko-chan, I'm Buggy, Buggy."

"..."

The scene descended into chaos, with everyone pushing and shoving each other and huddling together, none of them willing to give way. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Roger moved in front of Moko, looking on with anticipation.

"Little Moko, it's your dad!"

"Hey, Captain, you bastard! How dare you sneak up and get there first!"

The crowd surged forward again, and a muscular arm pulled Roger into the midst of the melee. Roger's limbs were pinned down, and he couldn't move forward an inch. Roger was furious.

"How can you call it stealing? I'm Moko's father!"

"Tch, that's because you beat me to it, Captain. Whatever, I'll definitely be the second person Xiao Mo calls!"

"Impossible, the second person Xiao Mo called for was me!"

Amidst the chaos of the battle, Rayleigh had already crouched down in front of Moko, gently taking her small hand in his large one, his voice tender.

"Little Moke, who am I?"

Mo Ke tried to pronounce it, but the sound she made was still childish and not very standard.

"Rayle, huff huff!"

"!!!"

Hearing the little voice, everyone turned to look, utterly dejected. Ah, they'd forgotten about their super-powerful first mate! That's unfair! Mr. Rayleigh's cheating!

Rayleigh was satisfied, his eyes radiating joy. As expected, the kids he raised were different. Moko chuckled as she looked at the dejected group. They were all incredibly funny.

Seeing Moko's smile, everyone felt a sense of healing. They exchanged glances, their eyes sparkling with excitement—the third one was definitely themselves! (????д????)

Barrett looked at the crowd who had been making a fuss for so long, puzzled. It was just a baby talking, what was so exciting about it? Barrett couldn't grasp the point of everyone's excitement at all. He turned his head to look at Moko, who happened to be looking over at the same time. She then gave a sweet smile, a clean and pure smile that went straight into people's hearts.

It was too pure, a smile that had never seen darkness. Barrett hurriedly looked away, turning away from Moko. Unlike him, who had grown up in a war-torn country, he had to constantly become stronger in order to survive, and he enjoyed the process of becoming stronger. But this child was different. Her life, which seemed so weak that it could be strangled with a little force, was pampered. She didn't worry about surviving, and even every move she made could win cheers from the crowd, which made people a little jealous.

But looking at that innocent smile, Barrett couldn't bring himself to hate him. Rather than inexplicably hating a naive child, he hated himself even more for being so weak. He had become so much stronger, yet he still couldn't even look a child in the eye.

Seeing the pale gray aura surrounding Barrett, Moko blinked and gently patted Shanks' arm.

"It smells good!"

"What's wrong, Moko-chan?"

Shanks quickly snapped out of his reverie, looking at Moko with a smile in his eyes. Moko pointed to Barrett in the corner. Shanks frowned slightly, but didn't refuse Moko. He picked Moko up and walked over to Barrett.

Although Barrett was only 15 years old, he was already about the same height as Roger, over two meters tall. Even when sitting, he was much taller than Shanks when standing. Perhaps he had giant blood, Moko thought.

Moko leaned against Shanks, sitting on Shanks' arm. Shanks' other hand was placed protectively in front of Moko, and his gaze towards Barrett was calm and indifferent.

Barrett remained silent, simply staring at the two people in front of him. The surroundings fell silent briefly as everyone turned to look. Moko stretched out her short arm, seemingly trying to touch Barrett. Barrett didn't move, and Moko remained outstretched, resulting in a stalemate between the two.

Moko's arms were getting sore from holding it up, and her pretty brows furrowed slightly. In the end, Barrett was the one who gave in. The main reason was that the alluring gazes around them were too intense. Barrett felt that if he didn't move, he might be devoured alive. Instead of squatting down, Barrett simply lowered his head slightly to meet Moko's gaze.

Seeing Barrett compromise, Moko smiled, patted Barrett's face with her little hand, and spoke in a somewhat disjointed manner.

"No, it's not bitter, it's not bitter..."

Barrett was somewhat stunned. Not bitter? Not crying? He hadn't cried, so why was he being told not to cry? Moko didn't say anything else, but gently touched Barrett's slightly rough face, as if to comfort him. Barrett lowered his eyes, a complex light flashing in them. The others stood aside, watching this scene with faint smiles, not disturbing it.

After breakfast, everyone was on the deck teaching Moko to speak, holding sparkling jewelry to attract her attention. Barrett leaned on the edge of the ship, quietly watching this scene, his lips pressed into a straight line. Roger quietly walked over and stood next to Barrett.

“Little Mo is so cute, isn’t she?” Roger continued, not waiting for Barrett’s reply. “Children are extremely sensitive to emotions. Barrett, no one can survive alone on the high seas. No matter how strong you become, that won’t change. What makes you want to become stronger?”

Barrett turned his head to look at the man he admired. Roger stared intently at Moko, who was smiling softly in the crowd, and the corners of his mouth also turned up. He was completely unrelated to the evil described in the newspapers. Roger was just an ordinary father.

"Yo ho, Moko-chan called my name third, hahaha!"

Bucky was jumping high in the crowd. When Roger heard this, he immediately lost his composure. His expression changed instantly, and he quickly strode forward with a mournful face.

"Little Moko, where's Daddy? Can you call me Daddy next?"

Barrett looked at Roger with complicated emotions. His change of expression was too sudden. However, Barrett's gaze returned to Moko, recalling her words: "Don't cry, you can't live alone?" And what was the point of becoming stronger? He had stopped believing in the word "comrade" a long time ago, but now someone was telling him he should try to integrate, try to find a reason to become stronger. Was this the reason Roger was so powerful? Could he really find that reason?

"I wasn't crying..."

The soft murmurs dissipated in the wind, unheard by anyone.