One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 121 Accepting the Invitation

"White Star!"

Uta was very excited on the way to the palace, holding Moko's hand and swaying it back and forth. When she saw Shirahoshi coming out to greet her outside the palace, the joy of reunion after so long made Uta run quickly towards Shirahoshi.

"Uta!"

Shirahoshi was clearly happy, wagging her tail as she swam toward Uta. Nearly a year had passed, and Shirahoshi had grown quite a bit taller, looking at least two meters, almost three meters. Her physique was probably inherited from Neptune, and it was anyone's guess how tall she would grow in the future.

"Waaaaah."

Before they could even exchange two words, Bai Xing's eyes were already brimming with tears. Uta helplessly curled the corners of her mouth, stood on tiptoe, and wiped away Bai Xing's tears as she bent down.

"Shirahoshi is such a crybaby. I'm here now, aren't I? Don't cry, don't cry."

As she spoke, Uta reached out and gently stroked Shirahoshi's face. Her soothing and gentle expression was exactly the same as Moko's. Ella, who was perched on Uta's head, looked at the crying Shirahoshi and flapped her wings to fly to Shirahoshi. She stretched out her chubby paws and, imitating Uta's actions, wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of Shirahoshi's eyes.

The tears shone like pearls, and Ella looked curiously at the large teardrop on her paw. She blinked her big eyes twice and then put it into her mouth. As expected, because it wasn't sweet, Ella's eyes and eyebrows furrowed. When Shirahoshi and Uta saw Ella acting silly, they couldn't help but laugh.

Moko sighed helplessly and indulgently, feeling both amused and exasperated. What had Ella learned from Luffy? She hadn't been starving them, so why did they always want to put everything in their mouths and taste it? It was a good thing that she and Ace were there to keep an eye on them, otherwise what if they ate something poisonous?

"elder sister!"

Seeing Moko approaching, Bai Xing's eyes lit up with even greater joy. Moko reached out and pinched Bai Xing's cheek, her eyes curving into beautiful crescent shapes.

"Little Star and Uta, go play outside. With Tuanzi here, you can go to the Sea Forest too."

"Ooh!"

Upon hearing its name, Tuanzi immediately swam over. Even with a bubble swimming ring around its round waist, it didn't affect its speed at all. Tuanzi confidently patted its chest, and its fan-like tail happily flapped up and down.

"Really!?"

Upon learning that she could go to the Sea Forest, Shirahoshi's eyes lit up with joy. She turned to look at Neptune, who had followed behind her. Since Princess Otohime's death, Neptune had become increasingly protective of his only daughter. Because Hody Jones had not yet been captured, Neptune usually dared not let Shirahoshi go too far from the palace alone. She always went out with a large number of guards. However, Shirahoshi did not want to disturb her mother's rest with so many people, nor did she want Neptune to worry. Therefore, she had always been extremely restrained in not going to the Sea Forest.

But today, with Moko's permission and Tuanzi as a guard, even Neptune didn't say much. Meeting Shirahoshi's surprised eyes, Neptune relaxed his brows and nodded. Shirahoshi's face broke into a bright smile. Without further hesitation, she and Uta excitedly headed towards the Sea Forest, with Tuanzi following closely behind like a bodyguard. The three little ones disappeared at the end of the road.

"Uncle Neptune, don't worry. With Dumpling and Shadow watching over things, no one can hurt Little Star."

Moreover, a faint light flashed in Moko's eyes. The entire Fishman Island was now within her sight, and it was impossible for anyone to harm the two children under these circumstances.

Seeing that Neptune still looked worried, Moko sighed and followed Neptune's gaze to the end of the road where Shirahoshi and Uta had left.

The death of Otohime was a huge blow to Neptune. In addition, Shirahoshi was a gentle and kind person who was very trusting. If the uncontrollable power hidden in her was used by someone with ulterior motives, Neptune was afraid that one day he would lose Shirahoshi just like he lost Otohime. So he tried his best to protect Shirahoshi, but he ignored Shirahoshi's feelings.

Watching Shirahoshi's bright smile fade into the distance, Neptune's eyes flashed with regret. He had promised Otohime that he would make Shirahoshi happy forever. If Otohime knew that he had made Shirahoshi unhappy, she would definitely grab his ear and scold him severely. But if Otohime could come back to life, what did it matter if she scolded him ten thousand times, a million times, or a hundred million times?

“Sigh… I know, but Moko, Shirahoshi is the last and only treasure that Otohime left me. Heh, now I understand how your father felt back then. I even laughed at him back then.”

Neptune chuckled self-deprecatingly, recalling how he had once mocked Roger for being a complete doting father, paving the way for his daughter even on his deathbed. How could such a powerful man have a weakness that could be exploited? Now it seemed like karma had caught up with him; hadn't he become a doting father just like Roger? His desire to protect Shirahoshi was no less than Roger's.

“My dad loves me very much, I’ve always known that.”

Moko lowered her eyes, concealing the fleeting sadness and longing within them. Neptune noticed Moko's downcast mood and immediately panicked, feeling utterly annoyed. Oh no! He'd made Otohime's two favorite treasures cry! What was he going to do?! Otohime was definitely going to scold him to death!

(Otohime: s(?｀ヘ′?;)ゞ)

"Little Moko."

The sound from behind drew Moko's attention, and she was able to pull herself out of her sad memories. Neptune breathed a sigh of relief and looked gratefully at the person behind him.

"Brother Marco!"

Moko's voice was filled with surprise. Since dealing with the Fishman Island matter, Moko hadn't seen Marco much. Besides the Navy's busy affairs, the Whitebeard Pirates were also very busy. As the first division commander in charge of finances and various affairs on the ship, Marco couldn't possibly come to Fishman Island every day. So his time with Moko's trip to Fishman Island didn't match up, and it had indeed been a long time since they had seen each other.

"Is Brother Marco here to review this year's summary reports?"

Knowing Marco is busy, Moko had Yubi send people over to handle matters related to Fishman Island and the management report, to save Marco the trouble of making a trip. This year's summary report should have already been sent, right? Is Yubi late?

(Yubi: No way! Moko-neechan, I delivered it (@[]@!!)!!!)

"I've already received the report. It's just that the Moby Dick's docking location in the New World happens to be not far from Fishman Island, so I thought I'd take a look at YO~"

"Oh, I see. By the way, how has Uncle Whitebeard been feeling lately?"

(Yubi: I'm saved (?w? ))

Unlike when he was young, Whitebeard's old injuries from his youth have become increasingly burdensome as he gets older. When Moko learned of this, she specially wrote a new prescription for Whitebeard to try. Since it was based on Marco's description, the prescription was mainly for recuperation.

"Xiao Moke's new prescription is very effective, Dad's health has improved a lot after taking it."

Marco's voice was filled with gratitude. His father's illness had always been a major worry for him. As the ship's doctor, he was most aware of the changes in his father's physical condition. In the past two years, the dosage of medication had been gradually increasing, but since using the new prescription given by Moko, his father's physical condition had improved significantly, and even his energy was much better than before.

"Is that so? That's good, but..."

Moko rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought. The prescription she had given was only the first stage, because she had only heard Marco's verbal description of Whitebeard's physical condition. The specific treatment would need to be adjusted according to the individual's condition. It seemed she would have to go to the Whitebeard Pirates herself. She no longer cried easily, so she was sure she would be alright even if she saw Whitebeard.

"Little Moko?" Marco looked at Moko with a puzzled expression when he saw her suddenly quiet.

"Brother Marco, I want to go see Uncle Whitebeard."

"!!"

Marco's half-drooping eyelids lifted immediately upon hearing Moko's words, and the surprise in his eyes made Moko a little embarrassed. After all, Marco had invited her to play on the ship countless times, but Moko had always refused Marco's invitations, saying that she was not ready.

Just as she had said before, she was afraid, afraid to see the worried looks in her family's eyes. Her family on the Jackson would not blame her for being weak, but her weakness would make them worry.

Whitebeard was a rival and an important friend whom her father cherished. Although they didn't meet often, Moko knew that Whitebeard genuinely treated her like family. Moko knew that Whitebeard had instructed Marco to secretly warn and restrain those who threatened Moko's forces. It was precisely because of this that Moko treated the Whitebeard Pirates with complete sincerity.

"If Xiao Mo goes on the ship, Dad will be so happy! I have to tell him beforehand, he's definitely going to throw a huge banquet this time!"

Marco, who never showed his emotions, was all smiles this time. He was so flustered and disorganized that if they weren't in the deep sea, he would have wanted to fly back to the Moby Dick with Moko right away.

"Then it seems we'll need to prepare quite a bit of good wine."

Moko smiled brightly, and Marco looked at her helplessly, his eyes filled with a doting affection that he himself did not realize.

"Xiao Mo, don't spoil your old man too much."

Almost every month, Moko would have Moko deliver a lot of wine or snacks to the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard would always use the fact that Moko was delivering them to argue with Marco, and of course, Marco would always be defeated. Whenever Moko was mentioned, Marco was helpless and couldn't stop her at all.

Seeing Marco's helplessness, Moko covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her radiant smile eclipsing even the enormous pearls surrounding the palace.

"Okay, I won't spoil you too much. I promise I won't send so much next time."

Marco sighed helplessly, but didn't say anything more. His eyes were full of indulgence. Oh well, this is Moko-chan's intention. He can just intercept and hide it next time.

The shimmering light of the Tree of Eve filled the dome, and the gentle ripples of water traced a path of light and shadow. The waves rose softly and slowly, as if whispering or murmuring, and the budding emotions hidden in my heart finally began to crack.