One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 72 Demon

Vander Decken IX's teeth chattered as he finally realized he had fallen into a den of demons. There was no way he could escape from these demons. Since he couldn't escape, he would fight to the death. He refused to believe that he couldn't escape with his Devil Fruit powers.

Thinking this, Vander Decken IX actually stabbed Moko with the knife in his hand, his expression as if he wanted to die together with Moko.

"Clang!"

The snow-white dagger in her hand radiated a chilling aura. Moko easily caught the knife swung by Vander Decken IX, but the gentle yet devilish smile on her face inexplicably sent a shiver down one's spine, making the hairs on one's body stand on end.

"Hehehe, you've fallen for it!"

Van der Deiken IX laughed especially wildly. Moko followed Van der Deiken IX's gaze and saw that it was Van der Deiken IX's other hand that touched the corner of Moko's sleeve. Moko frowned, and disgust flashed in her eyes.

At this moment, Vander Decken IX produced a dagger from who-knows-where and kept throwing it at Moke. The daggers seemed to have eyes; those randomly thrown daggers actually curved and flew straight towards Moke.

Moko remained completely calm, her arm moving with astonishing speed as she caught the flying daggers one by one. The daggers, which originally looked incredibly sturdy, were as fragile as paper when they touched the daggers in Moko's hand, and were cut straight in half and fell to the ground.

King Vander Decken IX was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth. He looked at Moko as if she were a monster. He didn't care about anything else at that moment and kept throwing anything he could grab at Moko. Seeing the vase flying towards him, Moko kicked a chair away. The chair and the vase collided in mid-air, and countless fragments fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Moko tilted her head and gave Vander Decken IX a mocking glance.

"Anything else? If not, it's my turn. It might hurt a lot, but I don't really like screaming, so could you please bear with it?"

Before Vander Decken IX could react to Moko's meaning, his right hand fingers had already fallen to the ground. He hadn't even seen Moko's movements clearly. The blood from the severed fingers stained the ground red. The visual shock finally brought Vander Decken IX back to his senses, and the intense pain made him scream in agony.

The shrill, unpleasant scream made Moko frown in disgust, and she looked at Shanks with a wronged expression. Shanks' eyes were full of affection and a hint of relief, and he didn't think Moko was cruel at all. Instead, he grabbed a teacup and casually threw it. The teacup went straight into Vander Decken IX's wide-open mouth. Compared to Vander Decken IX's accuracy, Shanks seemed to be a step ahead. The scream instantly turned into a low whimper, and the room became much quieter.

Vander Decken IX tried to pry the teacup out of his mouth, but the excruciating pain in his hand left him no time to care about the cup. He could only whimper, clutching his hand, his eyes filled with terror as he watched Moko approach step by step.

With the sharp noise gone, Moko's expression became noticeably happier. Seeing that Vander Decken IX was still trying to escape, Moko stomped him into the floor. Today, Moko was unusually wearing high heels, and the sharp heels pierced through Vander Decken IX's shoulder.

"Crack!"

It sounded like bones cracking or the floor breaking, but whatever it was, nobody cared anymore.

"So your ability is to throw whatever you're holding at anyone it touches, regardless of distance? Would this ability still work if you didn't have hands? I'm really curious, why don't we give it a try?"

"Waaaaah!"

Moko raised the dagger again, ignoring Van der Deiken IX's desperate shaking of his head. A cold shadow flashed, and Van der Deiken IX's right arm was completely separated from his body. The intense pain caused Van der Deiken IX to faint completely. Although he was unconscious, his body was still twitching due to the pain.

The people present watched this scene without any change in their expressions. They did not think Moko was cruel. They had been sailing for so long and had taken far more lives than Moko. Their interrogation methods were also far more cruel than Moko's. In their eyes, Moko's interrogation was actually quite mild.

Seemingly having had her fill of fun, Moko calmly pulled out a tissue from the table and wiped the dagger clean. When her gaze fell on the bloodstains on her heel and the pool of blood on the ground, Moko's disgust was undisguised, and she looked at Shanks with extreme grievance.

"Ugh, my shoes are dirty, Shanks~"

Moko's current state was clearly very wrong, but Shanks showed no surprise or oddity. Instead, he got up, carried Moko to the sofa, and casually threw her blood-stained shoes into the trash can. He also grabbed a cloak and wrapped Moko up like a spring roll, completely disregarding the gruesome scene of blood on the ground behind him, his voice gentle.

"What else do you want to do with him, Moko-chan?"

"Woo~"

Moko was having fun pinching Shanks' cheeks, while glancing disdainfully at Vander Decken IX, who had already fainted from the pain on the ground.

"Throw it into the sea."

Once someone eats a Devil Fruit, even a Fish-Man will be rejected by the sea. Watching oneself die helplessly is far more painful than dying outright, especially in the deep sea where the chances of survival are extremely slim. However, it's not entirely hopeless. Moko still softened her heart. Shanks lowered his eyes, hiding the dark glint in them, but did not object to Moko's decision, speaking coldly.

"Do as Moko-chan says, and throw it into the sea."

The last three words were unexpectedly emphasized, and Shanks didn't need to say more; everyone else understood what to do.

After that, everyone except Beckman and Yubi, who needed to stay and discuss things with Marco, could leave. Yasopp, too lazy to drag the unconscious trash along, gestured to a pirate next to him to pull up Vander Decken IX from the ground, and the group left in a grand manner.

Once the matter was resolved, Shanks didn't bother staying any longer, especially since there was someone staring at his wife. Don't think he didn't notice Marco's gaze; however, Marco himself didn't seem to understand why he was in that situation. Shanks didn't care whether Marco had reacted or not. If the other person hadn't been from the Whitebeard Pirates, he would have thrown Marco out immediately.

(Tuanzi: Back then, you just threw me out without saying a word. Was it because I was easy to bully? \(`Δ')／

Shanks: This is my wife. Anyone who spies on her, throw them all into the sea! (?? ??)

Shanks picked up Moko, who was wrapped up in her cloak, and walked out without stopping, not forgetting to tell Beckman, "The rest is up to you, Beckman."

Yubi has not dealt with the division of spheres of influence and interests on the affiliated islands. In the past, the islands occupied by Moka were all affiliated islands of Shanks or unclaimed islands. Moreover, Moka's occupation for commercial purposes is different from the occupation of Fishman Island by leaving a large amount of military force. Beckman stayed behind to take charge of this matter.

This matter should have been discussed between Moko and Marco personally, but Moko's current state was clearly not right. She looked very different from her usual self, and her aura was extremely unstable. If it weren't for Shanks's usual doting affection, Beckman would have had to suspect that this person was not Moko at all.

Back in the room, Shanks put Moko on the bed, took a new coat from the closet and dressed her. Moko sat obediently on the bed, not saying a word, her eyes glazed over as if she had been drinking.

Shanks reluctantly placed the two cat cakes from the basket into Moko's arms, then chuckled and flicked them.

"Stop pretending now that you're awake. Release Moko-chan's consciousness from the dream."

The two furballs woke up very early. After noticing that Moko's emotions were not right, they took Moko's consciousness into her dream on their own. Shanks had suspected that there were two furballs when Moko suddenly fell into a deep sleep when she was a child, but the two silly furballs did not show any abilities afterward, so the matter was left unresolved.

Last night, Shanks clearly sensed the different aura fluctuations of the two furballs. When he opened his eyes, he saw the two furballs sneaking up to Moko's side. Shanks caught them red-handed, which really scared the two furballs so much that they jumped far away.

After noticing that Moko's aura and emotional fluctuations had stabilized, Shanks guessed that this was the two little ones' special ability. Knowing that the two little ones would not harm Moko, Shanks personally tested it. After a few simple tests, Shanks gained a general understanding of the two little ones' special ability.

Rather than the power of the two furballs, it's more accurate to say it's the power of Sweet Fruit. Sweet Fruit can bring a person's consciousness into a dream. If Sweet Fruit doesn't agree, the person will remain asleep in their dream unless they insist on waking up on their own or they have a strong sense of self-preservation, like Shanks. If he doesn't agree to Sweet Fruit's intrusion of consciousness, Sweet Fruit simply cannot pull him into the dream.

After absorbing Moko's healing power last time, Sweet Fruit's dream seemed to have gained some healing power. Sweet Fruit couldn't bear to see Moko trapped in pain, so she pulled Moko into the dream, hoping to heal Moko's heart with a beautiful dream. However, Moko's self-protection instinct was too strong, so only a part of Moko's consciousness remained in the dream, while the rest supported Moko's awakening. This is why Moko seemed the same as usual today, yet also different from usual.

"Pfft!"

Upon hearing Shanks' voice, the two cats stopped pretending to be asleep and returned to their round, chubby forms. Sweetie pounced into Moko's palm, and a faint pinkish-white halo shone from Sweetie's body. Moko's confused eyes gradually brightened. When the halo around Sweetie disappeared, Shanks sat down next to Moko with a worried look in his eyes.

"Moko-chan?"

"Shanks? How strange, it feels like I've had a really long dream."

Moko frowned slightly, looking somewhat confused. Shanks, seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Moko into his arms, and began to talk about the abilities of the two furballs.

"Dream healing?"

Moko stroked the fuzz on the sweet fruit and raised an eyebrow. "So, were those dreams something you made me see?"

"Chirp." Sweet Fruit fluttered its wings and rubbed against Moko's palm.

"I see... Thank you, Sweet Fruit, that was a really, really good dream."

The dappled sunlight from the seabed shone through the glass-framed window, casting a soft, iridescent glow on Moko's profile, making her look as beautiful as a fleeting illusion.

Shanks was a little flustered. Even though Moko was right in his arms, it felt like he couldn't hold onto her. Shanks couldn't help but pull Moko closer to him. Just a moment ago, he felt as if Moko was about to disappear, like a bubble bursting in the air, leaving nothing but the beauty he had seen in his memory.

"Moko-chan, I won't die. I'll always be by your side, so please don't leave me. If you disappear, I'll really go crazy."

Feeling Shanks trembling, Momo rested her head on Shanks' shoulder and gently patted his back like she was comforting a child.

"It won't happen again. I'm sorry, Shanks, for making you worry. I'm sorry."