One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 30 Traces of Love

After delivering the wine in Windmill Village, Moko saw Sabo and Luffy crouching at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the stairs. The two little guys were acting suspiciously, like little mice planning to steal rice. Moko crouched behind them and looked up as well.

"Sabo, Luffy, what are you looking at?"

"what!"

Sabo was startled, while Luffy, having already smelled Moko's sweet scent, turned around and threw himself into her arms. Moko smiled and ruffled Luffy's hair.

"Phew, it's my older sister."

"What's wrong? Did you bring the centipedes from the mountains home again?"

Moko was joking, and it's not surprising that she would think that way. Ever since Ace and Sabo have been together every day, all sorts of strange ideas have come up one after another. The two little ones have also grown up, so Moko asked Mika to stay home and take care of Luffy. As a result, the two little ones always end up bringing strange creatures from the forest home, which scares Dadan's family half to death every time.

Sometimes it's a centipede as thick as a tree trunk, sometimes it's a crocodile or bear several times larger than the two little ones, and wasps are also common. Every day, Moko can see different battle-damaged versions of the two little ones, such as the two little ones whose lips are swollen like sausages because they ate something, or the two little ones who have been stung by wasps and turned into hagi mochi. Fortunately, Moko is at home most of the time, otherwise she doesn't know how badly the two little ones would be bullied.

"No, no, it's Ace."

"Huh? What's wrong with Ace?"

Upon hearing Sabo mention Ace, Moko quickly checked upstairs and found Ace curled up in bed, seemingly unharmed. Moko breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering this.

"Um……"

Sabo hesitated, seemingly unsure of what to say, and looked at Moko with a complicated expression. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he cautiously asked Moko.

"Sister, are you and Ace's father really the world-famous Pirate King?"

Having heard this, Moko understood what had happened. She sighed softly. This day was bound to come sooner or later. Ace, who did not grow up with his parents, would eventually learn about his father's past from the people of the world. Even though those people did not understand Roger at all, what a child wanted was to hear the world's positive evaluation of his father, rather than the people saying that his father was the most heinous person in the world.

Moko gently pinched Sabo's cheek, her smile still gentle. "Yes, my father and Ace's father is the Pirate King Gol D. Roger. Is Sabo afraid?"

"No way! He's One Piece! That's so cool!"

Sabo's eyes lit up. The Pirate King! That was his dream. But Ace didn't seem happy. After his excitement subsided, Sabo looked upstairs with worry.

"But sister, Ace and I went to the Goa Kingdom today. Ace seemed to have heard something from the people there, and then he became unhappy."

"Did Ace tell Sabo about this too?"

"Ah."

"Would Sabo hate Ace?"

"How could I hate Ace! We promised to be best friends for life."

Sabo hurriedly explained, and Moko patted Sabo's head, a relieved smile in her eyes.

"Sabo, that's enough. As long as Sabo and Luffy are willing to stay with Ace, Ace will no longer be afraid of this."

"really?"

"Of course, Luffy thinks so too, right?"

"Mmm, Ace, food!"

Luffy's constant thoughts of food amused Moko and Sabo. Moko told Sabo to play with Luffy for a while, while she went to Ace's door.

"Dong dong dong."

"Ace, it's my sister, I'm coming in."

The room was dark, but the dim sunlight of the setting sun streamed in, dividing the small bed in two. Ace, wrapped in a blanket, huddled in a dark corner, motionless. Moko sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh and lifted the photo frame on the bedside table.

The photo frame contains a picture of Roger and Rouge. There aren't many photos of Roger. It seems that Roger knew the Navy would come to investigate thoroughly later, so very few things about him were left behind. Moko only left behind a few photos and a few items. In order to make Ace remember Roger and Rouge, Moko had placed photos of Roger and Rouge in the room a long time ago.

Moko looked at the photo, her fingers gently tracing its surface, her eyes filled with emotion. After a long silence, Moko softly asked a question.

"Ace, do you hate your dad?"

Ace clutched the blanket without answering. He didn't know what to say. When he was little, his sister told him that his parents were very gentle people and that they loved him very much. He had always believed that. But when he started to meet other people, he discovered that everyone hated his father and even described him as a demon. Could he, as the child of a demon, really survive in this world?

As if understanding Ace's thoughts, Moko gently stroked Ace's head through the blanket. "Ace, don't listen to what others say. Listen to your own heart. Do you really think Dad is as evil as they say?"

Moko gazed at the leaves falling in the wind outside the window. Birds returning to their nests landed back on the branches, affectionately pecking at each other's feathers. The baby birds in the nest poked their heads out and called to the adult birds. Hearing the chicks' calls, the adult birds immediately returned to the nest. The whole family huddled together in their small nest, a scene that made one feel envious.

“Ace, everyone can hate and misunderstand Roger, but we can’t. He is our father. He risked his life to give us a chance to survive… Perhaps these things are too heavy for you right now, but this love carried by life itself is very precious… Ace, go out to sea and see for yourself. Use your own eyes to truly understand our father and see the traces he left in the world.”

Ace slowly pulled down the blanket, looking at Moko's gentle eyes, and his eyes couldn't help but sting. He was such a fool. He actually questioned his dearest sister's words because of a group of strangers. Compared to him, who didn't understand anything since childhood, his sister, who was already sensible and had witnessed the death of their parents, was the one who suffered the most.

"I'm sorry, sister, I..."

Moko reached out and wiped away the tears from Ace's eyes, kissed Ace's forehead, and smiled gently, showing no anger at Ace's questioning of Roger.

"Mom and Dad, I was really looking forward to Ace's birth. Ace is not the evil child they say he is. Ace's birth was full of love and anticipation. This love may be misunderstood, distorted, or even turned into a weapon to stab Ace, but there is no denying that this love is real. It has always been protecting Ace's heart from breaking deep inside his heart."

As she spoke, Moko held Ace's hand and placed it on his heart. "Ace, you must grow up safe and healthy. This is not only my wish, but also your mom and dad's wish."

Ace felt a warm feeling welling up inside him. The two people in the photo on the bedside table were smiling kindly and warmly. Had he always been a child who was expected to live? He was not the child that those people said should not exist. He had always been loved. So that's how it is. He was such a fool.

"Sister, I want to go to sea. I want to become a pirate."

Upon hearing Ace's wish, Moko smiled gently, wiping away the tears from the corners of Ace's eyes with her fingertips, her voice still as tender as ever.

"Okay, Ace, just do what you want to do. Your sister will always be there for you."

"Goo~"

Suddenly, a stomach growl came from the doorway. Moko and Ace both looked over. Sabo was frantically waving his arms and legs, not sure if he was covering Luffy's mouth or Luffy's stomach. Moko looked at Sabo with amusement. Luffy didn't care about anything else, pushed open the door, and rushed over with his short legs to hug Moko's leg. He looked at Ace with his big eyes and took out the orange lollipop that Moko had put in his pocket that morning.

"Ace, Sugar, don't cry."

The candy wrapped in the candy wrapper had already melted a bit, which showed that Luffy had kept it in his pocket all day. Momo rarely gave the three little ones candy or snacks. The three little ones weren't picky eaters and couldn't stop eating when they found something delicious. Momo was afraid that giving them too much would cause them to get cavities, so she only made desserts and snacks once a week. Luffy especially liked eating snacks, and the fact that he was willing to take them out for Ace showed that Ace was more important to him than food.

"Luffy".

Ace looked at Luffy, tears welling up in his eyes. Since he had already been discovered and Sabo had given up, he went straight to Ace's bedside, puffing out his cheeks and looking at him with a disappointed expression.

"Ace, you idiot! It's so cool that your dad is the Pirate King! Those people are just sour grapes. How can you be sad about something like that? That's so lame."

Sabo raised his eyebrows and looked at Ace with an adult-like expression. Ace couldn't stand being mocked by his good friend, so he immediately grabbed Sabo by the throat with one hand, and the two of them started to playfully fight. Luffy, who was cute, joined in the fun, and tried to climb onto the bed with his short legs. The gloomy atmosphere disappeared in an instant. Moko smiled and got up to walk to the door.

"Come downstairs for dinner when you're all ready. We're making braised pork today."

Braised pork belly!

The three little ones' eyes lit up, and they lost all interest in fighting. They hurriedly ran into the bathroom to get ready. Ace grabbed Luffy, who had given up on climbing into bed and was about to run to the door, and pulled him into the bathroom by the back of his neck. Moko smiled and went downstairs to start preparing dinner.

Children always grow up quickly. Two years later, five-year-old Luffy was able to carry a water pipe and run into the forest with his two older brothers. After that, the people being chased by wild beasts changed from two little ones to three. The forest was in chaos every day because of the three little ones, and even the Goa Kingdom at the foot of the mountain was not spared.

Moko often hears news of the three little ones causing trouble everywhere in the Goa Kingdom. As long as the three little ones are not injured, Moko doesn't restrain them much. Their troublemaking personality is just like their father's. If these three little ones go to sea in the future, their ability to cause trouble will probably be even more powerful than their father's. As the older sister, she just needs to take care of them.

Yubi and his group have made great progress in the Four Seas. After three years of accumulating strength, Jasmine Wine Shop has also gained considerable fame, and has accumulated a certain amount of wealth and power. Moko has also started to get busy again. Looking at the latest reports and documents sent back, Moko quickly went through them. When she saw the last letter, Moko frowned slightly. It seems that it is about time to go to the current base for inspection.