One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 82 The World's Number One Swordsman

"who are you?"

The sudden appearance of Moko startled the man, who quickly took several steps back and stared at her seriously.

"Hey boss, this is a beauty, how about..."

"Shut up!"

The man known as the boss sternly reprimanded his subordinate who was about to speak rudely. He had managed to survive at sea for so long, which showed he wasn't completely without brains.

He had only extended the invitation because he saw the brat's potential, but who would have thought that the brat would be so ungrateful? Of course, he couldn't blame him for being ruthless if someone couldn't be used by him, but this woman was clearly not someone to be trifled with, and he was absolutely certain that he was no match for her.

The man glanced at his still slightly trembling arm, his brows furrowing even deeper. It was just a tree branch, yet it was as hard as iron. He hadn't held back at all, but he still couldn't budge the woman an inch. Just who was this woman?

Moko didn't care what the man was thinking. She simply helped Zoro up from the ground, took out a handkerchief to wipe the dirt off Zoro's face, and casually wiped the wound on Zoro's cheek where the knife had cut him. The wound healed quietly without anyone noticing.

This disregard for them was infuriating, but the leader remained silent, and the others, though dissatisfied, could only keep quiet until Moko wiped Zoro's face clean and spoke up in a low voice.

“This child is my younger brother. You all bullied him, so as his older sister, it’s only natural that I have to stand up for him, isn’t it?”

Despite the seemingly calm and unassuming words, the leading man felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat beading on his back. He swallowed hard, gripping his sword tightly, but still forced a weak and nonchalant tone as he spoke.

"It's a misunderstanding. Since the child isn't hurt, why don't we just let it go?"

"Forget it? But I don't want to just let it go like that."

Moko turned around, her delicate appearance radiating an inexplicable chilling pressure. Her orange-pink eyes stared at the group of men before her as if they were dead, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

"Woman, I advise you to think this through. There are so many of us here, and you're all alone. It would be better if we both compromised."

The man tried to appear calm, spreading his hands and staring at Moke. He was gambling that Moke would give up a conflict with them because of their superior numbers. But clearly, he didn't understand Moke at all. Moke had never been afraid of being outnumbered.

Moko ignored the man, shoved the bloated Ella into Zoro's arms, rubbed Zoro's head, and spoke in a completely different tone than when she spoke to the group of men behind her.

"You can't use a sword well with just brute force. A sword should be used like this."

As soon as she finished speaking, Moko slowly walked towards the man in the shop, twirling the tree branch in her hand like a sword. It was just a tree branch, but it seemed to become sharper and sharper, carrying a sword aura that made people want to back away. At that moment, Zoro vaguely saw that what Moko was holding was no longer a tree branch, but a real sword.

Moko's every step felt like it was pounding on their hearts, each sound making their hearts tremble. The leader wasn't going to die like that, and he shouted desperately.

"She's just a woman. There are so many of us, why are we afraid of her? Charge! Kill her!"

I don't know where they got the courage, but a group of grown men actually rushed forward. Taking down the person in front of them would only be a matter of a breath, but in order for Zoro to see the sword swing, Moko deliberately slowed down.

Moko's swordsmanship talent rivals that of Shanks, but these ordinary pirates are no match for her movements. What follows is Moko's own stage, where the once arrogant men can only watch helplessly as she so easily ends their lives with just a tree branch.

If a fight were to break out, Moko would either not make a move at all, or if she did, she would never leave any future trouble for herself. This was a rule that Shanks had taught Moko since she was a child.

Zoro's eyes shone even brighter as he stared intently at Moko. Moko's sword-wielding movements were graceful, her sharp sword swings carrying a unique feminine softness. Each swing was like a dance, like a delicate orchid blooming in blood, yet still pure and flawless. Her merciless sword swings were breathtakingly beautiful. Moko's image was so deeply etched into his mind that nothing else could be seen.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Zoro's eyes were filled with admiration. He had been practicing swordsmanship with his master, who had said that he was very talented and already very strong compared to his peers. But that wasn't enough. He wanted to become even stronger, to gain everyone's recognition, and to become the true world's greatest swordsman. So he arrogantly decided to set sail. But after setting sail, he discovered his weakness and shortcomings. His training was far from sufficient. He couldn't even protect himself, let alone become the world's greatest swordsman.

The leader tried to resist at the last moment, but it was all in vain. Moko caught the man's sword without a care and even had time to turn her head to look at Zoro.

"Did you see it clearly?"

"Ok!"

Zoro's swordsmanship must have been taught by someone, but due to insufficient practical experience and training, his shortcomings are very obvious, with loopholes everywhere. He only relies on brute force to fight against enemies, which is very harmful to him. Zoro is a good kid, so Moko is naturally willing to give him some pointers.

Moko's sword-wielding movements were all techniques Zoro had just used, with only slight modifications to smooth out the flaws and make them flawless. Zoro is still young, and as long as he can digest these techniques, they will be of great use to his later training.

Zoro may not have realized it at first, but after discovering that Moko's swordsmanship was the same as his own, he understood Moko's intention. So he carefully memorized every move Moko made, and the more he watched, the more shocked he became. He never expected that his seemingly gentle and delicate sister was actually a hidden swordsman.

Having received Zoro's affirmation, Moko nodded, then with a slight flick of her wrist, she gently swung the branch in her hand, and a bloody gash appeared on the man's neck. Blood flowed from the wound, and the man collapsed without warning. In his dying moments, the man stared intently at the calm Moko, filled with regret for having come to the island today. Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in this world, and he would never have the chance to change anything.

Moko didn't even glance at the corpses. Instead, she went to the unconscious female shop assistant and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that the shop assistant was still breathing and was just unconscious.

"Puffed rice".

"Pfft."

Upon hearing Moko's call, Mihua flapped her wings and lifted an inch off the ground, bypassing the bloodstains on the ground to reach Moko's side. Moko took out homemade medicine powder and bandages from the backpack on Mihua's back, cleaned the wound, and poured the medicine powder on it. The bleeding stopped quickly.

Seeing Moko helping to bandage the wound, Zoro also started helping to clean up the mess in the shop. The shopkeeper, who had been stunned, finally came to his senses and also started cleaning up the mess in the shop.

Seeing that there was no more movement, some of the bolder people from the surrounding shops came out to see what was going on. When they found that the group of men were all dead, their faces showed obvious joy, and they hurriedly knocked on doors to announce the good news.

Pirates frequently raid this island, but the island's inhabitants are powerless to resist. The pirate that Moko killed was the one who had long occupied the island. For the so-called protection he claimed, the island's inhabitants had to pay exorbitant protection fees. If they couldn't pay, they would be brutally beaten. They had been oppressed for far too long and never imagined that one day someone would appear to rescue them.

Looking at Moko walking ahead, Zoro, holding a large bag of sweet cakes given to him by the shop owner, pursed his lips and finally asked.

"Sister, did you already find out?"

He felt something was off as he walked along the street. It looked so lively, but the expressions on everyone's faces weren't very good. And the shopkeeper's face didn't look good either. Maybe his sister had noticed it before, which is why she said she wanted to go out for a walk?

"Is the sugar cake delicious?"

Moko didn't answer Zoro, but instead stuffed another piece of candy from the bag into Zoro's mouth. When they entered the town last night, Moko noticed something was wrong. The people here seemed to be very sensitive to knocking. Even though it looked lively on the surface, the fear in their eyes was undeniable. Of course, the most important thing was that Dango found a pirate ship in the bay.

The pirates in the town have been dealt with, and Dango will take care of the ones in the bay. Moko also informed Garp this morning that the island is not far from Garp's jurisdiction, so it can be directly incorporated into his territory. There should be no need to worry about the rest.

Although Moko is a pirate, she does not hate the Navy. Otherwise, she would not have agreed to Garp's request to join the Navy. The conflict between the Navy and pirates is how this world works. Moko cannot interfere with it, nor does she want to, unless one day this rule endangers her family.

There are countless pirates in the world. Because not all pirates are like my father and Shanks, they will protect the weak. Therefore, the world needs the Navy to uphold so-called justice. Even if this justice is not perfect and is even somewhat extreme, it can at least protect the vast majority of ordinary people and give the weak a place to live.

"good to eat."

Seeing that Moko wasn't going to answer, Zoro understood that, just as he suspected, his sister had probably already noticed something was wrong with the town.

"We've bought everything, let's go back," Moko said without stopping or turning her head.

“…Sister.” Zoro remained silent for a while before finally stopping and speaking softly.

"Hmm?" Sensing that Zoro had stopped, Moko also stopped, turned around and looked at Zoro, waiting for him to continue.

"My sister must be a very powerful swordsman, where did her sword go?"

In Zoro's mind, a swordsman would never be separated from his sword. Moko was clearly very skilled in swordsmanship, but there was no trace of a sword around her, which was really strange.

"I'm just an ordinary person who likes to use swords. As for my sword... it's probably still asleep." Moko thought for a moment, resting her index finger on her chin, and then gave a joking answer.

"?"

Zoro felt that Moko was just giving him the runaround again. Swords don't sleep, but Zoro didn't press the matter further. Everyone has their own secrets, and since his sister was unwilling to answer, why should he pry? Besides, even without the sword, his sister was still very powerful, after all, she could catch an iron sword with a tree branch.

After asking his question, Zoro hesitated, but then spoke, his eyes filled with determination.

"Sister, I'm leaving."

He has too many shortcomings. His master is right. With his current strength, he cannot achieve anything at sea. He is too impulsive and arrogant. He must go back. He must work harder to cultivate his mind and spirit. He will go to sea again in two years. At that time, he will definitely be able to leave his name on this sea.

Upon hearing Zoro's words, Moko merely smiled and handed Zoro a backpack that Mika was carrying, gently patting his head.

"I've already arranged for someone to leave the small boat at the dock. There are warm clothes and some dry food in my backpack. Take care of yourself on the way back and don't catch a cold."

Zoro hadn't said where he was going, but Moko seemed to be able to read his mind, easily guessing his next decision and preparing so much for him. Zoro bit his lower lip, unsure of what to say for a moment.

"Zoro, you'd better be even stronger next time we meet."

As if sensing Zoro's embarrassment, Moko pinched Zoro's face and pulled it upwards, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Sister~"

Zoro managed to free his face from Moko's grasp, and knowing that Moko was trying to comfort him, he stopped showing his distressed expression.

"Sister, I will definitely become stronger, just as strong as you."

"Haha, that won't do. Zoro has to become stronger than me. Zoro is going to become the world's greatest swordsman. I'm just an ordinary person."

Zoro didn't believe Moko's words; ordinary people weren't that strong. But Zoro didn't argue with Moko; he just made a solemn promise.

"Yes, I will become stronger than my sister, and I will protect her next time."

“Okay, pinky promise.” Moko squatted down and extended her little finger.

"Pinky promise!"

Zoro also extended his little finger and hooked it with Moko's little finger. This was a promise with someone important, and also a promise between swordsmen. If he had the chance, he really wanted to have a match with his sister. He was sure he would have the chance!

Moko didn't see Zoro off. Zoro just carried his backpack and walked alone towards the dock. His small figure was stretched long by the setting sun, but his steps were unusually firm. Moko curled her lips and her eyes shimmered with gentle waves.

"We need to go home too. I wonder how the little ones are doing back home. Mika, Ella, let's go home."

"Pfft!"

"Woo-mi!"