One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 58: Reminiscing about the Past with Aged Wine

"Marco, why is Jasmine so generous this time? They gave us so much wine as soon as they saw us. By the way, have you found out who's behind them?"

"..."

"Marco."

"..."

Seeing that Marco hadn't responded, Sachi tilted his head and looked at Marco with a puzzled expression.

"Marco, Marco, hey, Marco!"

"Hey!"

"Oh, what's wrong, Yo, Sachi?"

Marco suddenly snapped out of his daze, looking at Sachi with a puzzled and bewildered expression.

"You asked me what's wrong? What's wrong with you? You seem completely out of it, and you won't respond even after I've called you so many times."

"Hmm, I'm thinking about something. What were you asking me just now, YO?"

Marco usually has a lot of things to manage, and with the recent investigation into Jasmine, Sachi didn't think much of it and asked the same question again.

"Pretty much, YO."

"Huh? How much difference is it? Did they find out or not?"

“We’ve chosen someone, but we need to report to Dad first, YO.”

"Tsk, why have you started keeping me in suspense after just a short time? Anyway, as long as you know what's going on, we're almost at the Moby Dick. I wonder how late those guys on board will drink tonight..."

Sachi kept rambling on and on, and Marco seemed to be listening, but his eyes were vacant, and his mind had long since drifted off to somewhere else.

(Sachi: So nobody wants to listen to me anymore? ╰(‵□′)╯! I'm quitting cooking!)

On the Moby Dick, the deck was already bustling with activity. Surrounded by delicious food, the clinking of glasses filled the air, and every now and then a few people would put their arms around each other and sang strange tunes, making everyone laugh. As you walked down the corridor, the noise gradually subsided, and by the time you entered the captain's cabin, you couldn't hear anything at all.

"You mean, you saw that little guy? Is it the person behind Jasmine or that little guy?"

In the captain's cabin, Whitebeard sat casually in a specially made chair, his upper body bare, revealing an old wound on his chest. His long golden hair was beginning to turn white, but his crescent-shaped mustache remained unchanged.

Upon hearing Marco's words, Whitebeard's eyes widened in shock. Even after years at sea, he was still stunned by the news.

"Yes, Yo, Dad, it seems like Xiao Mo is doing quite well now."

"Gulalalala, as expected of his daughter, she's truly remarkable."

Whitebeard suddenly burst into laughter, his chest trembling. Seeing his father so happy, Marco chuckled and pushed the sake that Moko had specially prepared for Whitebeard in front of him.

"This is a gift from Xiao Mo to you, Dad. She said she'll come back to the ship next time she has the chance."

"Roar."

Upon hearing about the gift, the white-bearded man's eyes lit up. The main reason was that the wine in the barrel smelled so good. He had drunk quite a bit of jasmine wine over the past year, but this strong aroma was different from the wine he usually bought.

Whitebeard eagerly grabbed the barrel and took a big gulp. The wine was rich and unique, with a strong sweetness and the aroma of aging in the barrel. It had a long and unforgettable aftertaste and was a rare find.

"This is really good wine. I'll buy more of this next time. It's much stronger than that sweet fruit wine. Glug glug."

Seeing how much Whitebeard liked it, Marco also picked up the jug and took a sip. The wine was smooth with a slightly sweet aftertaste; it was indeed a rare and excellent wine.

A smile flickered in Marco's eyes as he realized why Jasmine had been able to capture the market so quickly. With its unique brewing techniques, few breweries in the world could match it.

The Whitebeard Pirates also have their own brewery, but Marco doesn't believe he can brew this kind of wine. While ordinary fruit wines can be replicated with a little experimentation, this wine is different. Its taste is truly unique, and it seems to have a grain aroma. However, without knowing the specific brewing method, it's absolutely impossible to brew the same taste. Nowadays, the only one who can probably brew this kind of wine is Jasmine.

The liquor business is an extremely lucrative industry, but Marco doesn't covet it. On the contrary, he's happy that Moko has the ability to survive in the world. Moko lost her father at such a young age and had no one else to rely on. She struggled on her own, growing up from a tiny little thing to this age. Marco doesn't dare to think about how many hardships she went through.

Although he also grew up in danger, he had his father and so many brothers by his side and was never alone. But Mo Ke has come this far all by herself, which is heartbreaking to think about.

“Since the little guy is the one who opened the Jasmine, Marco, you should also remind the people below not to lay a hand on the Jasmine, especially those who have been acting up lately.”

As he said this, the white-bearded man narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within them, but he quickly returned to his usual carefree and unrestrained demeanor.

“Okay, Yo, Dad.”

Marco lowered his eyelids slightly, pondering how to give those who were starting to stir up trouble again a warning. Although Moko hadn't boarded the ship, he had long ago included her in his family, a fact that his father had tacitly approved.

Now that he knows that Jasmine Fragrance is Moke's business, he won't allow anyone to touch his sister's cake. Speaking of which, a few people have been jumping around quite a bit lately, even clamoring to take over Jasmine Fragrance. It seems he needs to stretch his muscles a bit.

The banquet on deck continued late into the night before gradually subsiding. Marco returned to his room, leaving only Whitebeard in the captain's cabin.

Whitebeard looked at the ripples spreading in the sake jug, his thoughts drifting back to more than ten years ago. He thought it was just an ordinary drinking party like every other one, but he never expected it would be the last time he drank with that guy. It all seemed like a joke played by fate. The man who had survived so many dangers at sea had actually contracted a terminal illness and, like a hero, chose such a world-famous way to die.

"...Newgate, I'll be counting on you from now on, little Momo..."

"..."

"What a bastard, just handing that kid over to me like that..." Whitebeard took a big gulp of wine, stared at the ceiling, and sighed deeply. "Roger, I still can't understand what's going on in your head, you bastard..."

As dawn broke, Moko was already packed and ready to go. The main purpose of this trip was to clear out the bugs on Ophelia and meet Shanks. Meeting Marco was a complete surprise. She didn't know how many of the people on the ship and her father's friends she would see again. Moko cherished these old friends she could still meet. At least it let her know that many people still remembered her father, remembered the real father who was not defined by the world.

"Sister Moko, we can set off now."

"Alright, let's set sail."

Mo Ke snapped out of her thoughts, patted Mi Hua's head, and slowly walked onto the boat.

"Yes!"

Time flies when you're looking forward to meeting; the sun and moon revolve, and you're only a day's journey from the island where you'll meet.

Moko stood on the deck staring at the Vivre Card in her hand, her fingers occasionally stroking the clean, white card. Although Moko could sense Shanks's life force status, she still preferred the more direct and explicit Vivre Card.

The feeling of life slipping away was like water flowing through her fingers, so fast that Moko couldn't grasp it. This feeling was exactly the same as the feeling of having nothing left that year, which made Moko feel extremely uncomfortable. So much so that Moko could only feel something real when she was holding the intact life card.

"Sister Moko, there is an unidentified pirate ship blocking our way."

Hearing the sounds coming from the observation deck, Moko's eyes darkened slightly. She carefully folded the Vivre Card and put it into the small bag that Mika was carrying. Her movements were unhurried and she didn't take the three pirate ships blocking her way seriously at all.

In just a short while, three pirate ships had surrounded the merchant ship. The pirates on board looked fierce and menacing, and their aura was anything but friendly. It seemed they were there to die.

"Hey, I didn't expect to catch such a big fish today. Brothers, go easy on them, don't scare these delicate beauties."

The man in the lead had yellow teeth and lewdly looked the girls on the boat up and down. When his gaze fell on Moko, he was clearly amazed and seemed even more impatient.

"Hahaha, don't worry, boss, we promise to be quiet."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The pirates on the pirate ship kept rolling their eyes, and just by looking at how much they were drooling, you could tell they weren't thinking anything good. Moko was originally in a good mood because she was going to see Shanks, but now just being on the same sea with this group of people made her feel disgusted.

Yubi and the others had already taken up their weapons and stood along the ship's edge, ready to drown the enemy as soon as they came. They didn't want Moko to step on the filthy blood of these people, but more than blood, Yubi wanted to cut off their tongues.

The pirates' words became increasingly offensive, with all sorts of vulgarities making Yubi and the others grit their teeth in anger. Even if these people died, he would tear them to pieces and feed them to the insects. How dare they insult their beloved Moko-neechan like this? It was simply unforgivable.

"If you don't want your eyes anymore, just gouge them out."

Moko spoke calmly, flipped her right hand, and the two hairpins in her hair pierced straight into one of the pirates who had been staring at her. There was no time to react. The man's eyes were pierced, and the hairpins flew out from the back of his head, piercing his eyeballs and embedding themselves firmly in the deck. The man didn't even utter a cry of pain before he fell straight to the ground.

Her long pink hair, unsecured by hairpins, was loose and flowing. The seemingly delicate dodder flower, dressed in a white dress, now looked more like a man-eating plant, and an eerie silence fell over the surroundings.

Moko glanced regretfully at the hairpin carved from fine sandalwood on the opposite deck. What a pity; she wondered if these people were willing to pay for it.

Thinking this, Moko coldly glanced at the three ships, then sighed regretfully. They weren't even enough for half a hairpin. She was angry. What was the point of robbing if you don't have money? They weren't even enough for her to steal. She had wasted two hairpins. She should have used a pen instead. (?●°?°●)?

While Mo Ke was still lamenting the loss of the hairpin, the leader on the other side finally reacted, scrambling to the fallen corpse and embracing it while shouting in grief.

"Second brother! Aaaaah, you filthy bastard, I'm going to kill you!"

(Author passing by~ Swear words automatically censored, good kids don't imitate this (*°w°*))

"boom!"

Before anyone could figure out how to get over, a huge explosion rang out, and the pirate ship on the other side suddenly exploded, giving everyone a jolt.

Before they could figure out what was going on, a disdainful sneer came from within the black smoke.

"Pfft, you dare to bully the captain's wife on the boss's turf? I have to say, you've got some nerve."