One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 69 Poseidon’s Miracle

"My lovely little Moko, don't cry. I will always be there for you. My love will never disappear..."

The sound seemed to come from the edge of the world, ethereal and unreal. Mo Ke frowned, her skin, as white as mutton fat, appeared even paler. Perhaps she was dreaming of the past, tears welled up from the corners of her eyes and disappeared into her hair.

Bai Xing lay beside Mo Ke, her eyes also red and swollen. She curled her tail and snuggled close to Mo Ke, holding Mo Ke's hands tightly and refusing to let go. On this day, two girls who should have been happy for a lifetime lost their mother who loved them deeply.

In the conference room on the other side, Shanks' eyes were deep and dark, so cold that it was impossible to look directly at him. The lines at the corners of his mouth revealed an undeniable determination. Sitting opposite him was Marco, who had also received the news and come to Fishman Island.

Marco never expected to meet Shanks on Fishman Island. After all, in his memory, Shanks had almost never had any other deep relationship with Fishman Island. Why he came here was unknown. Of course, let's put that aside for now. The first thing to ask should be Yubi. Why is Yubi on Shanks' side? Yubi should be one of Moko's subordinates.

Marco withdrew his gaze from Yubi and looked back at Shanks directly opposite him.

"I've already told you, Shanks, there are many people eyeing Fishman Island. Now that Queen Otohime has passed away, those who hunt fish and fishmen will become even more unscrupulous. Your current position is simply not enough to protect Fishman Island."

"Ha, Marco, whether you can protect it or not is not up to you, and whose territory Fishman Island belongs to is not up to you or me."

Shanks had a faint smile on his lips, casually toying with the teacup in his hand. But when he lowered his eyes, a worry that no one noticed would occasionally flash in them. Seeing that the situation was not going to be resolved anytime soon, Shanks became increasingly agitated.

Beckman leaned back in his chair, casually lit a cigarette, and looked at Shanks, who was extremely agitated. He sighed inwardly. Whenever it involved Miss Moko, his captain simply couldn't stay calm. But Whitebeard was being far too obsessed with Fishman Island. Was it really worth going to such lengths for a friend? Beckman pondered this.

Neptune sat at the head of the table, listening indifferently to the two pirate crews arguing over the ownership of Fishman Island. He knew very well that Fishman Island was too weak at the moment. Without a powerful backer, Fishman Island would be quickly divided and devoured by those greedy people after Otohime left.

While Otohime was alive, she was committed to peaceful coexistence with humans. Thanks to various cooperation and constraints with the mainland's high-ranking officials, Fishman Island had been at peace with the mainland in recent years. Even if some people came to hunt mermaids, they could be driven away in time. But now that Otohime has passed away, those nobles will inevitably reveal their true colors and bare their terrifying fangs at Fishman Island.

Ha, he really is an incompetent king. Without Otohime, he is so helpless. But Otohime, don't worry, even if it costs him his life, he will protect Fishman Island and their daughter!

"Boom!"

The door was suddenly pushed open, and Hongo's expression was extremely unpleasant.

"A maid came and said that Miss Moko and Princess Shirahoshi are missing."

"boom!"

Shanks suddenly stood up, causing his chair to fall straight to the ground with a loud thud. Before anyone else could react, Shanks had already dashed out in the blink of an eye. Marco, upon hearing that Moko was also on Fishman Island, showed an extremely surprised expression, but he didn't have time to think too much. He flipped over the table and quickly followed Shanks.

"What? They're gone? Quick, notify everyone... No, immediately block the news! Shark Star, have everyone in the palace search for them, and also, prohibit everyone from entering or leaving the passageways!"

Neptune was clearly very anxious, but he remained calm and gave instructions to the people in the palace. The disappearance of the royal princess was no small matter. Now that Otohime had passed away, Fishman Island was in turmoil. If the news of Shirahoshi's disappearance were to spread, Neptune dared not imagine the consequences.

"Yes!" The three princes quickly swam out, and the palace became noisy.

In Shirahoshi's bedroom, the two girls who should have been in bed were nowhere to be seen. The two fur balls on the table were still fast asleep, the silence unsettling. A huge panic filled Shanks' eyes, and his heart seemed to stop beating. His little Jasmine, he had lost her once again!

"Beckman, tell everyone to go find her! Even if we have to turn Fishman Island upside down, we have to find Moko-chan!"

An immense pressure enveloped Shanks, his eyes turning bloodshot with fear. Shanks was like a bomb that would explode at the slightest touch, and no one dared to approach him.

"Ah."

Beckman nodded, turned and walked straight past Marco, who was still unaware of the situation, toward the outside. He understood that there was no other way but to find Miss Moko. Their captain had been searching for ten years, and only because of Miss Moko's wishes did he restrain himself from taking her away. The captain could tolerate Miss Moko not being by his side, but he would never allow her to disappear from his sight.

Fishman Island was in an uproar because Moko and Shirahoshi were missing. Meanwhile, Moko and Shirahoshi had arrived at the Sea Forest. The two held hands tightly as they walked through the dense coral reefs, bypassing the open space where the Poneglyphs were stored. Shirahoshi parted a coral reef that was hidden by coral, and a path paved with small coral flowers appeared. The two silently stepped onto the path, and the coral reefs straightened up again, obscuring the path and hiding their traces.

A gentle breeze rippled across the seabed, carrying the gurgling sound of bubbles. Coral flowers drifted gracefully, their ancient inscriptions shimmering in the rosy blue light. Everything happened in complete silence.

The coral flowers disappeared at the end of the road, replaced by a field of crystal flowers and light-colored vines. An elegant pavilion sat amidst them, with deep green moss creeping up its edges. The old marks carved on the bricks seemed to tell a long and rich history. Not far from the pavilion, an enormous ship was moored.

The ship was almost as large as a small to medium-sized island, but its design and construction were very different from modern ships, and it did not seem to be a creation of this century.

"Noah?"

Moko murmured softly. She had read most of the historical texts when she was a child, although she didn't remember them very clearly now.

Without gazing for long, Moko withdrew her gaze and led Baixing to sit on a flat rock nearby. Baixing hugged her tail and curled up into a ball, sitting close to Moko on the rock. As if thinking of something, tears welled up in her eyes again. After a long while, Baixing bit her lip and let out a wronged voice.

"My mother used to love coming here, but now... I don't have a mother anymore."

"...It's okay, I'll stay with Bai Xing from now on, I'll protect Bai Xing."

Moko reached out and pulled Shirahoshi into her arms, gently comforting her. The grief in her eyes was so intense that it couldn't be dispelled, yet she still softly comforted the young Shirahoshi. She would protect Ace, whom her mother left behind, and Shirahoshi, whom her sister Otohime left behind. No one could take them away from her, and she would never allow such a thing to happen. She would never lose them again, never again...

On Fishman Island, Shanks was nearly driven mad. He couldn't sense Moko's presence at all. Moko seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace. Shanks knew that Moko had done this on purpose. She didn't want anyone else to find her and wanted to bear all of this alone. But how could Shanks be willing for Moko to bear all of this alone? His little Moko had already endured enough, and now he was here.

"Boss, we've checked all the ships at the checkpoint, and Miss Moko isn't here."

Lachle walked in, shook his head at Shanks, and the teacup beside Shanks shattered. His crimson eyes were fixed on the ring on his ring finger, and a voice filled with suppressed anger rang out.

"Keep searching."

Lachiru sighed, shook his head at Beckman, who stood helplessly to the side, and walked out.

"Baker, what do you think I should do?"

The abrupt and seemingly unrelated sentence left Beckman silent for a long time. Beckman walked to the windowsill, took the cigarette out of his mouth, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.

A pirate's possessiveness is not as simple as it appears on the surface, especially when this treasure is as valuable as life itself. Their captain is tolerant, but not to the point that Miss Moko would completely sacrifice herself for others, including himself.

Those three children, Fishman Island, and Jasmine—in the captain's eyes, they were all merely appendages of Miss Jasmine. They only seemed important because of Miss Jasmine, but no matter how important they were, they could never compare to Miss Jasmine. If these things threatened Miss Jasmine, Beckman believed that the captain would eliminate them without hesitation. Their captain's strength was far more terrifying than it appeared on the surface.

"Miss Moko will not allow it."

"...Ah, yes, Moko-chan is always so gentle..."

Shanks chuckled self-deprecatingly, covering his eyes with his hand to suppress the dark thoughts in his mind. He was selfish; whether it was when he was a child or now, Moko-chan could only ever belong to him. He had thought countless times about imprisoning Moko-chan by his side, but if he did that, Moko-chan would lose her smile.

Bai Xing fell asleep again under Mo Ke's soothing touch. Mo Ke gazed calmly at the arched dome, the low moans of whales filling her ears. Huge figures appeared in the light from time to time, only to disappear into the darkness again. The light cast by the giant tree of Eve gradually dimmed, and night was about to fall on Fishman Island.

As if a stream of light had swept across the dome, white starlight, like falling snow, slowly drifted down from the dome. Moko's eyes flickered slightly; her once calm and still eyes were drawn by the starlight to the darkness beyond the bubble. A faint light appeared in the darkness beyond the bubble layer, like a signal of beginnings. In the blink of an eye, the starlight fell into the endless deep sea, and the entire garden was enveloped in starlight. The darkness was dispelled by the starlight, and the school of glowing fish that had been hidden in Noah seemed to awaken, shuttling through the starlight and pecking at it to pave star paths leading to the unknown.

Is this the miracle of the sea god that Sister Otohime wanted to show her? It's so beautiful, so beautiful that it leaves one speechless. Moko gently raised her hand, and a small, glowing fish swam over slowly, placing the starlight it had plucked into Moko's palm. The starlight slowly spread out in her palm, and warmth flowed from her palm to her heart.

"When will my lovely little Moko come back?"

The familiar voice rang out, and Moko was stunned. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. She stood up with a slight tremor and walked closer to the starlight, holding another starlight in her hand.

"I met an incredibly cute little sea sprite today. The ocean was so friendly to her. She must be the sea god's most beloved child."

"..."

"Little Moko, I have a daughter now. She's so pretty. I'm sure you'll love this little sister."

"..."

"You idiot Roger, how could you leave my lovely little Moko to face the world all by herself? You idiot, you idiot, you big idiot!"

"I really want to see Xiao Moke. She must have grown into a beautiful young woman by now."

"..."

"Oh dear, I saw Xiao Moke today. Xiao Moke is still as cute as ever, but she doesn't look happy at all when she smiles."

"..."

"Little Moko, what will happen to my lovely little Moko after this?"

"My lovely little Moko, may you always be happy, peaceful, and carefree..."

Moko couldn't listen anymore. She knelt on the ground, covered her mouth, and cried silently. Every breath she took was bitter, making it hard for her to breathe.

This is the voice of Sister Otohime, the memory of Sister Otohime. The sea holds all of Sister Otohime's memories. Sister Otohime is right, love will not disappear because of separation, it will always stay with the one you love. But how can she let go of the thought that she will never be able to hug her again, never be able to see Sister Otohime's smile again?

"Sister Otohime, you're lying! We agreed to watch it together..."