One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 53 Family

"Hey, hey, don't push me!"

"Who stepped on my face?!"

"Don't pull my clothes, they're torn, torn!"

"..."

Behind the oddly shaped rocks, a group of tall men were seen striking various strange poses to conceal themselves. The men, who were several meters tall, had to twist themselves into pretzel shapes as if practicing yoga, which must have been quite difficult for them.

"They're gone, right? Who's there? Go look!"

A head peeked out from the rocks, and only breathed a sigh of relief when it saw that no one was in front of it. It then waved to the group.

"Let's go, let's go, hurry up, get ready to catch up."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground, stretching their stiff arms and legs. Following behind were Roger and his men.

Roger and Neptune then jumped down from the hanging tree. Because they were hanging there, many leaves had fallen on them, and they had two twigs stuck in their heads as a disguise, which was quite like burying their heads in the sand.

As if worried that the two in front would discover them, the group didn't rush out from behind the rocks. Instead, they all hid behind the rocks and peeked out one by one to check if the two had really gone far. Their heads popped out from the rocks like a stack of Jenga, which was strangely cute.

"Pfft!!"

"Huh, where did they go?"

"Pfft!"

"Hey, Mihua, keep your voice down, don't let Xiaomo hear you."

"Pfft!"

"How could it disappear in the blink of an eye?"

"Pfft!!"

"Don't be silly, Mihua."

A group of people looked around, searching for Moko and Otohime. Neptune and Roger also followed the group, carrying two bundles of branches, completely ignoring Mika who was anxiously pacing around.

What are you looking for?

"Tsk, of course we're looking for..."

They fell silent as they spoke, and everyone stiffly turned their heads to see Moko and Otohime standing behind them, looking at them. Moko blinked her bright eyes, her lips curving upwards to reveal two adorable dimples. She seemed to have said nothing, yet it was as if she had said everything.

Mihua stopped making a fuss and stayed quietly beside Moke. Even though she didn't have any facial features, everyone could still tell that Mihua was speechless.

Everyone instantly put on a busy act. Some squatted on the ground, perhaps looking for ants; some buddies put their arms around each other's shoulders, looking up at the sky and talking about how nice the weather was; and some pretended to be drunk, acting as if they had just wandered over.

As for Roger and Neptune, the two squatted behind a nearby reef, using bundles of branches to cover their faces. However, the two were so tall that the pitifully small reef could not hide them at all.

"Pfft~"

Seeing everyone's comical appearance, Moko burst out laughing. Otohime also covered her mouth and chuckled. Seeing that the two of them were laughing, everyone else scratched their heads embarrassedly and joined in the laughter.

Now that they'd been discovered, there was no point in hiding anymore. Roger and Neptune came out, their smiles a mix of ingratiation and embarrassment.

Roger picked up Moko and kissed her. Moko chuckled and reached out to remove the leaves from Roger's head. Otohime watched this scene with a smile in her eyes, her gaze naturally falling on Neptune beside her.

When Neptune saw that Otohime's gaze had turned to him, he was about to say something, but when he saw that he was still holding two twigs in his hand, he hurriedly threw them aside and quickly scratched his messy, frizzy hair.

Otohime raised an eyebrow slightly, a smile on her face, but a hint of mockery in her eyes. Neptune was so embarrassed he didn't know where to put his hands, his mind a complete mess. He regretted agreeing to come with Roger; ahhh, his tall and imposing image!

Under Otohime's watchful gaze, Neptune finally clenched his fist and put it to his mouth, tilting his head and coughing twice, pretending that he wasn't the one who had just done something foolish. As long as he pretended to be stupid, that person definitely wasn't him!

"Dad, what brings you here?"

"Well, everyone was worried because you came out alone without Shanks."

Roger explained that although Fishman Island was relatively peaceful and they were on good terms with Neptune, and most of the fishmen knew them, it was worrying that Moko had come out alone and clearly didn't want them to follow.

It's important to know that there are still many fishmen on Fishman Island who are dissatisfied with Neptune's rule and have an extreme aversion to land people. There are also many illegal immigrants in the surrounding area who capture mermaids to sell. Moko's appearance is not much different from that of beautiful mermaids. If something happens to Moko, it will be too late to regret it.

Hearing Roger's words, Moko lowered her head in shame. She wanted to find a suitable coral to make a gift to surprise everyone, thinking it wouldn't take too long, which is why she didn't say anything. However, this approach still made everyone worry. Even if it was just for a short while, she hadn't considered everyone's feelings or thought things through completely.

"I'm sorry, Dad, I'm sorry, everyone."

Roger held the little dumpling-like Moko in one arm and rubbed Moko's head with the other, showing no sign of blaming her.

You know, when they were kids, they were fearless and caused trouble everywhere. If they were unhappy, even wild beasts in the mountains would get a couple of punches from them. Not only Roger, but everyone on the ship grew up in all sorts of dangers. So when raising children, you can't say that you won't let them come into contact with any danger at all. Even Shanks and Buggy started fighting with them and other pirates when they were very young.

But Momo is different. Shanks and Bucky are boys, and they're a bunch of roughnecks who can handle anything. But Momo is a delicate girl, and she definitely can't be raised like that.

Moko is their pampered little princess, the brightest little sun on their voyage. They are strong, so their little sun can grow up safely and happily. They can bear the dangers of the sea. Their little sun does not need to have a childhood of fear and incurable wounds.

"Has Xiaomo found a coral she likes?"

Neptune had already explained Moko's search for Coral to Roger and the others. They naturally understood that Moko wanted to surprise them, so they didn't come out immediately. Instead, they secretly followed behind her, helping to find the path that Coral would take if she placed it behind Moko.

They're pirates, so how could their pampered princess be wrong? Their princess should be free and unrestrained, doing whatever she wants without any worries. As for other things, that's their business.

"No."

Moko shook her head regretfully. Roger and his group had secretly picked a lot of coral, but Moko still felt something was off. The coral was beautiful, but it wasn't the kind of coral she liked at first sight.

"Okay, let's help Xiaomo find her together!"

Roger, full of fighting spirit, put Moko on the ground and plunged into the coral reef. The others did not linger and scattered to search for red coral.

Seeing this, Moko's heart softened completely. Since coming into this world, everyone had been so incredibly kind to her, so kind that she didn't know how to repay them. But Moko also knew that if she asked them how she could repay them, their answer would surely be...

"Shanks..."

Seeing Shanks walk up in front of her, Moko nervously twisted her skirt, lowered her head, and dared not look at Shanks. After a long silence, a low chuckle came from behind her. Moko quietly looked up at Shanks.

Shanks crouched down to be at eye level with Moko, reached out and pinched Moko's cheek, without a trace of reproach on his face.

"Isn't Shanks angry? I sneaked out."

"Why be angry? Moko-chan can do whatever she wants. As for other things, I, the captain, and everyone else are here. Moko-chan just needs to be happy. We're family."

Yes, no matter when, everyone's answer is always the same: we are family. These five short words are full of everyone's love for Moko. No matter when, because we are family, I will always be by your side.

"What kind of coral does Moko-chan want?"

Shanks magically produced a candy and placed it in Moko's palm. Moko smiled with delight, "It's Shanks's favorite."

"Okay, then let's find lots of them, and make them into rice cakes and dumplings for Moko-chan to put in her room."

"Ok!"

On the other side, Otohime stood aside, looking at the nervous Neptune, and spoke with a slight smile.

"So, even the esteemed King Neptune secretly follows others."

There was no malice in her words, but rather a hint of teasing. Otohime was an extremely beautiful mermaid, and when she smiled, her blue eyes shone brightly. With just one glance, Neptune was unable to look away and was speechless.

The two remained silent facing each other until Moko's voice came.

"Sister Otohime, let's go take a look over there!"

Moko held Shanks' hand tightly, waving her free hand at Otohime. Otohime responded and quickly went to Moko's side, leaving Neptune standing there in a daze.

"Oh, Neptune, so this is what you like. Hmm, she is indeed a beauty."

Roger appeared beside Neptune at some point, nudged him with his elbow, rubbed his chin with his right hand, and his face clearly said, "I'm curious to see what's going on."

"Cough cough, who said that? I, I..."

Neptune was somewhat incoherent, but he just couldn't bring himself to say the words "I don't like it." The others had gathered around without him noticing, staring at Neptune with mocking expressions, which made him blush.

"Hahaha, Neptune, I know you too well. If you're a man, go after her! What's with all this dawdling?"

Pirates express their feelings directly; if they like someone, they like them. Just like usual, everyone often tells Moko that they like her without hiding it. Moko also actively responds to everyone's liking. For example, today, Moko went out to find coral to give to them. Isn't a gift the most direct expression of liking someone?

So seeing Neptune so hesitant, Roger, as his good brother, couldn't just stand by and watch. He had to lead his brothers in making a fuss, watching the drama unfold, and adding fuel to the fire. Who knows, his good brother might have a wife in a couple of days.

"Neptune, good women have many suitors, don't let someone else snatch them away."

The enthusiastic Rayleigh continued to add fuel to the fire, making it burn even brighter, his mischievousness perfectly evident in his eyes, as if he had already prepared his melon seeds and was ready to watch the show.

"Ah, you guys really are a huge problem!"

Neptune was embarrassed by what was said and pushed away Roger, who was grinning and teasing him. He wasn't planning on getting married yet, but if it were Otohime, that would be nice too... Ahhh, what was he thinking? He was definitely being led astray, definitely led astray by Roger and his gang!

"Hahaha, hey, you won't let me say it now, Neptune, this won't do. Where's your kingly aura? Where's your nonchalance? You had the nerve to talk about me not long ago."

Roger pointed at Neptune in a very irritating way, still mimicking Neptune's dignified demeanor from not long ago.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Everyone burst into laughter. Neptune was so angry that his veins bulged, and he just wanted to stab Roger in the head with the trident in his hand. In fact, Neptune did do that, but Roger dodged it quite quickly, and while dodging the attack, he didn't forget to be sarcastic.

"Neptune, why are you getting so worked up? I'm just telling you the truth, if you don't chase after me..."

"Shut up!"

Neptune, afraid that Otohime would hear him, chased after the big-mouthed Roger with his trident. The others had no intention of helping and just watched the show.

Moko stood at a distance, looking at the noisy crowd with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong with Dad and the others?"

Otohime looked in the direction of the sound and glanced at the crowd in the distance. Her eyes met those of Neptune, who was looking at her with his head turned to the side. A blush quickly rose to her ears, and Neptune immediately turned his head away, not daring to look at Otohime again. Otohime blinked, raised an eyebrow as if in realization, and unconsciously smiled.

"Never mind them, Xiao Moke, how about this coral?"

Otohime picked up a blood-red coral and handed it to Moko. Compared to the other corals, the coral in Otohime's hand was much smaller, but Moko inexplicably liked it.

"Yes, that's it."

Moko stroked the coral, her eyes filled with undisguised affection.

"Little Moko, this coral is called Nora."

"Nora? Do corals have names?"

“Yes, there are many kinds of coral, and each kind has a different meaning. However, Nora also has the meaning of blessing, so it is quite nice to give it to family members.” Otohime patted Moko’s head and smiled gently.

"Okay, then I'll choose this one."

Moko nodded, turned and ran towards Shanks in the coral reef, her eyes filled with joy at the prospect of sharing. Otohime stood up and quietly gazed at the two little ones standing in the coral reef.

There is no real sunlight underwater, but at this moment, the light of the Tree of Eve pours down, bathing Otohime in a soft golden glow. A gentle smile graces her face, her eyes as deep as the sea. Every smile and gesture is filled with captivating romance. And whose eyes, whose heart, have been touched by this beauty…?