One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 46 Sabo's Incident

The house wasn't too messy, and Moko quickly cleaned it up. Just as she hung up the washed clothes, Ace and Luffy returned. The moment they saw Moko, they seemed unable to contain their grievances, and the two little ones, who had looked happy, suddenly turned into crying babies.

"Sister!" x2

The two little ones dropped the water pipes they were holding and rushed into Moko's arms. Moko also noticed that something was wrong and hugged the two little ones, gently coaxing them.

"Sister, Sabo, Sabo, he..."

Luffy spoke somewhat incoherently, looking at Moko with teary eyes, snot bubbles coming out of his nose from crying. Ace also turned his head to one side, biting his lower lip and not speaking. The unwillingness and grievance in his eyes made Moko frown slightly. Had something happened after only being gone for a month?

Moko patiently comforted the two little ones, and from Luffy's intermittent narration and recent newspaper reports, she roughly learned what had happened. If Moko hadn't left healing power in the three little ones beforehand and could roughly sense their life force, she would have already wanted to go straight to Mary Geoise.

Moko's ability to sense life force is a new skill she gained after enhancing her healing power. She can sense the life force of anyone who has received treatment from her healing power, thus determining whether the person is still alive. In Moko's perception, Sabo's life force has not disappeared, but it is relatively weak. However, his life force has stabilized, indicating that he has been rescued. However, the current location is very far away, and it is extremely difficult to find a child on the vast ocean where even the location is unknown.

"Ace, Luffy, Sabo is alright."

Moko gently rubbed the two little ones' heads. The two little ones looked up at Moko in disbelief. Moko took out a handkerchief and wiped away Luffy's tears. Although it was difficult to find a child on the high seas, Moko would not give up. Sabo was a smart child, and he would definitely find a way to contact Moko after he recovered. As long as she accelerated Moko's development in the world, she would definitely be able to find Sabo.

"Sister, really? Sabo is really not dead?"

Luffy asked eagerly, and Ace turned his head to look over, his eyes filled with anticipation. Moko looked at the two of them with a gentle yet helpless expression.

"Yes, Sabo is still alive, but he must be in a very far place now. It will take you some time to find him, sister."

"Ace, did you hear that? Sabo isn't dead!"

Luffy unconditionally believed Moko's words, and grabbed Ace's arm, shaking it back and forth. Ace was also a little excited. He knew that Sabo was not dead. His brother would not die so easily. That's great, that's great.

"But why not run away when you encounter someone you can't beat? You could have run away, couldn't you?"

Seeing the two little ones smile again, Moko's expression turned serious, and her voice inevitably became stern. After Shanks' training, escaping shouldn't be difficult for them, but the three little ones were rushing forward recklessly, which was why Moko was worried.

Seeing Mo Ke's serious expression, the two little ones twisted their fingers, lowered their heads, and dared not look at Mo Ke. They were all dejected. After a period of training, they had indeed become much stronger, but they had also become too arrogant. They thought they could easily defeat that group of people, but in reality, they suffered a heavy defeat.

The two little ones looked so guilty that Moko sighed and flicked their foreheads with a little force, her tone helpless.

"I'm going to see Aunt Dadan. You all need to reflect on your actions."

Moko loves her children, but she will never spoil them. They must be punished for their mistakes; this is a matter of principle. Because of her pride and complacency, she has not only hurt herself but also those around her. If Moko does not warn the two little ones in time, this place on the sea, where opportunities and dangers coexist, will be an easy place for the enemy to exploit.

More than half a month has passed since the incident, and Dadan's injuries have healed considerably. He is now sitting outside the wooden house basking in the sun. When he sees Moko appear, he happily stands up from his recliner.

"Little Moko, you're back!"

"Aunt Dadan".

Moko looked at Dadan with some guilt. Dadan knew that Moko knew what had happened earlier, so he patted Moko's shoulder casually and pulled her to sit on a wooden chair next to the recliner.

"The children have caused you trouble."

Moko pursed her lips, and Dadan smiled kindly as he gently patted Moko's head.

"Oh, I'm almost better now, Xiao Mo, please don't make that face. Besides, no matter what, I'm your adoptive mother, how could I let my child be in danger?"

It was just a joke, but Dadan took it to heart. Even though no one would say anything if she didn't take care of them, Dadan still dutifully looked after and protected her and Ace. Moko suddenly felt like crying. All this time, she was so grateful to Dadan and the others. Taking care of the children wasn't difficult for Moko, but without the companionship and care of Dadan's family, Moko's heart might have broken down much faster.

"This expression doesn't suit Xiao Moke. Xiao Moke looks best when she smiles."

Dadan spoke in a light tone, saying that after the man named Shanks arrived, Moko smiled more often. Seeing her once lifeless eyes regain their luster, Dadan was happy and gratified. She didn't care whether the man was a pirate or not; she only knew that the man's eyes were full of love for Moko, a love that far surpassed his own life. Moreover, Moko also deeply loved that man. As long as Moko could be happy, that was enough.

In front of her children, she was just a mother. She didn't care about the grudges between the Navy and the pirates. Besides, she wasn't a Navy person. The current Momo was so alive and well. As long as her children were happy, what did it matter if there were pirates? She wasn't afraid of that old man Garp's fists.

The moment Dadan touched Moko, the healing power seeped into Dadan's body. Unlike those who had received special training, Dadan only felt much lighter and her wounds didn't hurt as much. Dadan attributed all of this to seeing Moko safe and sound, which made her feel relaxed, and she didn't think much about anything else.

Just as Moko doesn't interfere with Shanks's parenting, Dadan doesn't interfere with Moko's parenting either. Dadan clearly knows that she can only raise the children to adulthood, but she lets them develop whatever personality they want. So when Moko disciplines the children, Dadan never pleads for them. Besides, if she makes the gentle Moko angry, she definitely deserves a good scolding.

Because of this incident, Moko didn't rush back to Marineford. After explaining the situation to Garp, she spent the next period of time trying to temper the two little ones' tempers.

This impetuous nature needs to be tempered. Whether they become pirates or live ordinary lives, staying calm is the most basic requirement. Dad used to seem reckless, but those were choices made based on strong strength and careful consideration. Don't be fooled by Dad's unreliability; he has thought about all possible outcomes. Ace and Luffy are still too immature. Just thinking about setting sail like this makes Moko worried. She's really afraid that the two little ones will be dragged back by Garp as soon as they set sail.

The two energetic little ones dared not disobey Moko, and obediently endured Moko's gaze. There was no way around it; they might be fearless, but they were bound to be afraid of their older sister.

Moko's training method was simple: she had the two of them build a card tower in the yard. With various natural factors and Mihua constantly causing trouble, the two little ones' journey to build the card tower was extremely difficult.

Ace's Haki has awakened. Moko's training can not only temper his temperament, but also train Ace's control over Haki. It doesn't require him to control Haki perfectly, but at least he should learn the most basic control.

To improve one's Haki, the help from others is very limited; one can only rely on one's own understanding. Whether it was Moko or Shanks, both of them learned their Haki training methods by figuring them out themselves. Roger and Rayleigh only offered a few pointers when they were confused. Now, Moko is teaching Ace the same way. As long as one understands their own unique training method, becoming stronger is only a matter of time and perseverance.

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye. Moko stayed at Mount Gorpo until Garp sent her a message that the candidates for the Navy Admiral had been announced. Moko could go back and meet a few of them. If Moko didn't want them, it wouldn't be a big deal. It would just be to leave an impression on Moko anyway.

Ace and Luffy can now barely build a card tower, although they can't maintain the shape for long. However, their impulsive nature has calmed down a lot. Garp said there's still some time left, so Momo calculated the journey and decided to stay home and spend more time with the two little ones before leaving after the New Year and Ace's birthday.

The two little ones were not lazy at all, getting up early to train in the yard. The sound of the water pipes hitting and banging was particularly crisp in the quiet morning.

The temperature on the mountain had dropped completely, and the two little ones were wearing cotton-padded jackets sewn by Moko. The thick jackets made it difficult for them to move around, and their attack speed was much slower than usual. However, training could not stop. Once at sea, the enemy would not appear as they expected, so the two little ones could only simulate the battle at sea as much as possible.

Moko was making soft pancakes in the kitchen. The pancakes, with their almond aroma, were stacked up one by one, round and plump, looking so tempting.

"Mihua, go and call Ace and Luffy back. It's time for breakfast."

"Pfft."

Mihua, who had been huddled up by the stove, immediately got up after hearing Moko's words and ran to the yard on her short legs.

"Pfft."

Upon seeing Mihua, the two little ones stopped practicing their movements, breathed on her, rubbed their palms together, and then reached into Mihua's soft fur. Mihua was warm from the fire. From childhood to adulthood, they had always loved to sleep with Mihua in winter. Who wouldn't love a natural warm baby? (′?w?｀) .

Mihua dragged the two back to the room. The two cups of sweet ginger tea on the table were still steaming. The two little ones held the cups with their hands and drank slowly. The warm feeling flowed through their blood to their limbs and bones, and their bodies, which had been freezing, suddenly warmed up. The two little ones happily squinted their eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Ace, Luffy, wash your hands and get ready for dinner."

Moko spoke to the two of them and brought the pancakes to the table. Looking at the soft and fluffy pancakes, the two little ones hurriedly washed their hands and quickly sat back down in their chairs.

The two little ones' greedy expressions made Moko chuckle. Moko took the honey from the side and poured it on the pancakes. The golden, transparent honey gave off a sweet aroma, which mixed with the slightly salty fragrance of the pancakes. Once Moko had finished, the two little ones couldn't wait to start eating.

Moko replaced the nearly finished sweet ginger tea with hot milk next to the two little ones. At this moment, Mihua seemed to sense it and fluttered her wings in front of the large French window, extremely excited.

The three of them followed Mihua's gaze to the window, where tiny snowflakes drifted gently down from the sky, like tiny white sprites dancing in the air, turning the remaining colors into a pure white hue.

"Sister, it's snowing!"

Luffy chewed on a pancake, his eyes gazing out the window. In Luffy's memory, Moko would always make lots of delicious food in winter, and she would pat his head by the fireplace and tell him and Ace stories, mostly about adventures at sea. They were very strange and interesting. He realized that the outside world was so big, and there were so many fun things to do on the sea. He was determined to go to sea someday and travel to every corner of the world with his sister Ace and his crew. He was sure he would find crewmates even better than Shanks' crewmates!

"Yes, it's snowing. The new year is coming soon."

Moko wiped the pancake crumbs from Luffy's mouth, then turned to look at Ace, her voice gentle.

"Ace's birthday is tomorrow, it's sure to snow beautifully then."

"Ah."

Ace nodded vigorously, turned to look out the window. He loved snow because it was like his sister—beautiful and pure. But all the beautiful things in the world were nothing compared to his sister. His sister was the most beautiful and gentle person in the world. He would protect her happiness and become the strongest man on the sea.