One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 28 Luffy Arrives

Nothing major happened in the days that followed. Before the training began, Moko first funded the renovation of the orphanage. The orphanage was neither warm in winter nor cool in summer. Children who were malnourished for a long time were prone to getting sick if they lived in such an environment. Moreover, this winter was colder than usual, so a warm house was very necessary.

After treating the sick children, training can begin. Moko can separate the children in the orphanage according to their individual talents and provide them with special training. Once the children have mastered the basics, they need to rely on their own reading, practice, and understanding. Moko will only provide guidance when they encounter something they don't understand.

No matter what you do, without strength, it's all empty talk. Children who start working from a young age learn to fight quickly. After learning the basic combat skills, they quickly find their own combat techniques. Moko usually only needs to point out some minor flaws.

Compared to those days of being robbed of food and beaten, the current life is something Yubi and the others could never have imagined. Now, the children in the orphanage only need to learn the knowledge and skills taught by Moko. Children with less talent can stay in the small shop after the orphanage was renovated and sell some small handicrafts. Their lives are gradually becoming more prosperous, and there are no more children dying because they are not full or sick.

This peaceful time was all brought by Moko, which made Yubi and the children train even harder. They wanted to repay Moko. They had seen people above vent their dissatisfaction on their subordinates, and being killed was commonplace, not to mention the difficult life. But after agreeing to Moko's request, life was better than they had ever imagined. It was like a dream.

As they spent more time together, they discovered that Moko was actually a very gentle person. Although she was just a child, she was as mature as an adult and incredibly strong. She didn't impose any demands on them, and the more she did this, the more they wanted to repay this adult who was so kind to them.

From the moment they were born, the world they encountered was all darkness. They thought that this was how their lives would be, but then Moko appeared and forcefully tore through the darkness, pulling them out of the mire. They saw a landscape completely different from what they had seen before and felt an unprecedented freedom. So this is the real world?

Moko completely left the children to their own devices. She wasn't worried about their loyalty and trusted her judgment. As for how much the children would learn in five years, that would depend on them.

"elder sister."

Ace can walk steadily now. Seeing Ace come over and hug her leg, Moko smiled and picked him up and kissed him.

"Is Ace hungry?"

"Hungry!"

Ace waved and laughed happily. Moko gently pinched Ace's cheek and took a milk cake from the plate and put it in Ace's hand.

"Ace, eat this first. The food will be ready soon."

"Food!"

Ace grabbed the milk cake and stuffed it into his mouth. Now that Ace's teeth have all grown in, Moko has made a lot more variety of baby food, most of which are soft, mushy and bland. Ace's appetite is just like Roger's, he has a great appetite, but Moko won't let Ace eat too much.

Time flew by as Ace was cared for and trained the orphanage children. Before they knew it, Ace was already three years old. Compared to his well-behaved self when he was little, the now older Ace often ran around with a hose. When Moko wasn't around, he would always cause chaos at Dadan's house. But as soon as Moko came back, he would be as well-behaved as a baby. Dadan called him a hypocrite.

Over the past three years, Moko has also purchased a large quantity of fruit for winemaking. Most of the fruit wine was transported to the Makino Tavern in Windmill Village for sale. There are too many nobles in the Goa Kingdom, and Moko is too lazy to deal with them. Moreover, Moko can't make too much wine by herself. Without a dedicated winery, she can't supply the Goa Kingdom market.

"Sister Makino, this batch of wine has been stored in the wine cellar."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Xiao Mo Ke. Xiao Mo Ke's wine is very popular. There have been quite a few people coming to buy it lately."

"Does Sister Makino need any help? I can come over when you're busy."

"No need, I can manage. But Xiao Mo, you should get some rest. You must be exhausted from brewing wine and taking care of your younger brother."

"No, Ace is very well-behaved, and he has Aunt Dadan and the others to help him."

Moko shook her head, her eyes softening even more when she spoke of Ace. Makino smiled slightly when she saw Moko like that.

"Makino, oh, is Xiao Mo Ke here too?"

As Karp pushed open the door and entered, his face broke into a wide smile when he saw Moko.

"Lieutenant General Garp, you're back."

"Grandpa Garp."

Makino greeted Moko, and then Moko noticed the swaddled baby in Garp's arms. She blinked in confusion, and as if noticing Moko's gaze, Garp generously placed the swaddled baby in Moko's arms and sat down at the bar. Makino then took out a glass of chilled fruit wine and some senbei and placed them in front of Garp, who started eating without any hesitation.

Moko looked at the baby in the swaddling clothes, who looked to be just over a month old, and her expression softened. She wanted to reach out and touch the baby's cheek, but the baby grabbed Moko's finger instead. Perhaps it was hungry, because the baby put Moko's hand into its mouth. This sight reminded Moko of Ace when he was a child, and her heart melted instantly.

"Grandpa Garp, what's his name?"

"Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy, my grandson, isn't he cute?"

Garp couldn't hide his pride and smugness, and when he saw Moko's gentle smile, he couldn't help but smile back.

"Luffy, what a great name... Grow up healthy and happy, little Luffy."

Moko's voice was soft as she affectionately nuzzled Luffy's cheek. Luffy seemed to like Moko too, giggling as he held her fingers. Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing Moko and Luffy in a warm yellow glow.

Looking at the scene before him, Garp was slightly stunned and couldn't help but fall into memories. He had seen this scene before, in the great woman who protected her two children with her life. Because they were mother and daughter, even their gentleness was exactly the same? But it was precisely because of this that he couldn't just ignore it.

According to Garp, Luffy's parents didn't have time to take care of him, so they left him to Garp's care. Garp was also going to let him grow up on his own and planned to just hand him over to the village chief. Seeing Moko's reproachful look, Garp's eyes darted around, and he scratched his face. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't very well let him take the Marine Headquarters to take care of him.

Moko sighed helplessly. After feeding Luffy the milk that Makino had warmed up, it was almost time to go home. She put the sleeping Luffy in Garp's arms and then took Mika back to the mountain. Although Moko had thought about whether to bring Luffy back to take care of him, she thought about the recent events and wondered if Ace could accept the sudden appearance of Luffy, so she temporarily put aside the idea of ​​bringing Luffy back.

Moko visits Windmill Village roughly every three months. On the day she goes to deliver wine to Windmill Village, Ace gets up early and sits obediently at the dining table waiting for breakfast. Moko places sandwiches and steamed eggs in front of Ace. Seeing Ace's enthusiastic expression, Moko smiles and pats Ace's head, then places a backpack full of snacks next to Ace.

"Are we going to play in the forest again today? Is it okay if Mika doesn't come along?"

Ace usually learns sword-wielding techniques from Moko. Perhaps because he is his father's child, Ace has a good talent for it. He can even do a decent water pipe dance. He often runs to play in the forest. Moko usually has Mika follow him. Although Mika has no offensive power, she carries Moko's aura, so no ferocious beasts dare to approach her. In the past three years, Moko has practically beaten up Mount Gorbo. There are no beasts that can fight Moko. Although they are all quite weak, Moko doesn't waste them. She occasionally catches a few beasts to give to Yubi and the others as sparring partners. The practical combat effect is much better than training in one-on-one combat.

(Beast: I strongly demand beast rights (*?????) This is outrageous! Hey, if you fight, you get eaten. Is this even fair?)

"Yes, sister. I'm very strong. I'll protect you from now on."

"Okay, when Ace grows up, he will protect his sister."

Ace patted his chest, looking like a little man. Moko's eyes curved slightly as she pinched Ace's cheek, showing no disapproval of his childish words.

While Ace was eating, Moko pinned the pom-pom to Ace's backpack. After finishing his meal, Ace waved goodbye to Moko with the water pipe in hand and ran into the forest without stopping. Once Ace's figure disappeared, Moko's smile vanished, and an aura of pressure instantly enveloped the entire mountain. In an instant, all the ferocious beasts in the mountain were so frightened that they all retreated to their dens and curled up. "My little ancestor is here again. If we don't hide, we'll be killed!"

Sensing no longer any threat, Moko withdrew her aura, jumped onto Mika's back, and dragged the fruit wine towards Windmill Village. Emerging from the mountains, one could see a vast expanse of lush green grassland, dotted with cattle, sheep, and windmills. Simple houses were scattered throughout, and the wind, carrying the scent of grass, swirled in the air. Butterflies occasionally landed on Moko. Compared to the outwardly luxurious Goa Kingdom, Moko preferred the simple and unpretentious atmosphere of Windmill Village. The relaxed vibe made Moko feel very at ease.

Along the way, many villagers greeted Moke, and Moke responded to each one. The first time Moke brought Mihua down the mountain, it startled the villagers, as it was the first time they had ever seen such a strange creature. As Moke frequently came to deliver wine, the villagers would eventually come up to her and give her lots of good food. It was so pitiful that such a young child had to come out to sell wine to make a living, and the villagers wanted to help her as much as they could.

Not wanting to refuse the villagers' kindness, Moko prepared a lot of fruit wine as a return gift. Seeing how sensible and well-behaved Moko was, the villagers' affection for her grew stronger and stronger. Their enthusiasm made Moko a little embarrassed. In the end, it was Kapu, who had returned from his vacation, who came to her rescue.

Mika slowly pulled the cart to the tavern entrance. As soon as she arrived, Moko heard a baby crying and then saw Makino carrying Luffy out.

"Luffy, look, Moko is here."

Makino quickly placed Luffy in Moko's arms. Luffy stopped crying when he smelled the familiar scent. He blinked his big, watery eyes and stared at Moko, his childish voice choked with sobs. Moko looked at Makino in confusion. The village chief, who came out right after them, looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes as thick as a panda's.

"Sister Makino, Village Chief, what's going on here?"

"I don't know if it's because Luffy has decided on you last time, but he cries when he wakes up and can't find you. He only stops crying when he's eating, otherwise he's very noisy. The village chief hasn't had a good night's sleep in a long time."

Makino explained helplessly that she was alright, only taking care of Luffy in the morning, but the village chief suffered all night from the disturbance. The village chief at the door looked dazed and seemed to be on the verge of death.

Moko suppressed the smile that was about to come out of her mouth. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, Sister Makino? If I had known this would happen, I would have come down the mountain sooner."

"I was thinking of letting you rest more. Taking care of the child is so tiring, and you are still just a child yourself."

Makino patted Moko's head, her eyes softening. How could she possibly let a child take care of two children younger than herself?

"It's alright, I'll take Luffy back up the mountain. I'll bring him down when he's older and more sensible. The village chief and Makino, please rest well and don't worry."

"Xiao Mo, can you manage this?"

"Nothing major happened after that, and Luffy can go up the mountain with Ace for company."

Seeing that Moko had already made up her mind, Makino sighed. She never made things difficult for anyone. Such a gentle and obedient child lost her parents so early. The world is really unfair.

To facilitate Moko's actions, Karp told the people of Windmill Village that Moko's parents had died early and she was a pitiful child raising her younger brother alone. The simple-minded villagers of Windmill Village, upon hearing about Moko's pitiful background, helped her openly and secretly. Not only did they refuse Moko's return gifts, but Moko might also take back a whole bunch of them. Knowing that they couldn't refuse, Moko lowered the price of the fruit wine very low, so that the villagers could have a glass or two when they had nothing to do.

Makino knew what Moko was thinking and silently agreed. She could see that the child couldn't accept other people's kindness for nothing. It was okay, there was still time, and the child could change.

"Okay, I'll come up the mountain to help out whenever I have time."

"Okay, thank you, Makino-neechan. Little Luffy, will you come back to the mountain with me?"

"ah!"

Luffy waved and grabbed Moko's clothes, grinning and revealing his newly grown baby teeth. With the matter settled, the village chief breathed a sigh of relief, said goodbye, and went home to catch up on sleep. He had been thoroughly tormented by these three.

Watching Moko and Mika's figures disappear at the end of the path, Makino's brows relaxed and a warm smile appeared on her lips. She hoped that the children could heal little Moko's heart. If those beautiful eyes were to have light, they would surely be more dazzling than any gemstone.