One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 104 A Bizarre Battle

On the deck, everyone stared coldly at the island opposite, which resembled a demon's head. The island was shrouded in dark clouds, with rolling thunder and an eerie atmosphere permeating everything. The giant ships in front of the island exuded a sinister aura, and the people on board had fierce faces; there were certainly not many good people among them.

The man standing at the bow of the ship was extremely tall and burly, with long black hair, a pair of long horns like dragon horns, and a long beard like dragon whiskers on his mouth. On his left arm, it was unclear whether it was a real dragon scale or a dragon scale tattoo. This man was none other than Kaido of the Beasts, one of the Emperors of the Sea whom Shanks was about to meet.

The moment Kaido saw Shanks slowly walk out of the cabin, he laughed wildly, his eyes burning with fervor. "Red-Haired Shanks, you've finally stopped hiding from me and agreed to meet me. Is this meeting to decide whether to accept the advice I gave you?"

Kaido looked at Shanks with a hint of appreciation for his talent. No one cared about this pirate who was ranked neither high nor low, but this man's influence in the New World was no less than that of any of the Emperors of the Sea. In fact, a closer look would reveal that this man, who claimed to be the weakest pirate, had never been defeated in battle. How could such a man be weak? Everyone in the world had underestimated Shanks!

"Kaido, you owe me an explanation for attacking my affiliated islands so casually."

Pirates have an extremely strong sense of territory, and any act of intrusion into their territory is undoubtedly a provocation to everyone in the territory. Although the group of troublemaking pirates has been wiped out by Shanks, Shanks has no intention of letting the mastermind behind it go so easily.

"Redhead, what's wrong with joining my ranks? I can give you everything you want: money, fame, status, and even more. Cooperate with me, and you'll have whatever you desire."

Instead of directly answering Shanks' question, Kaido rambled on with a bunch of irrelevant nonsense, as if there was nothing left to discuss. Shanks' eyes gleamed coldly, and his left hand was already gripping Griffin.

"Looks like the conversation is coming to an end."

The rejection was obvious, and Kaido's eyes narrowed dangerously. He valued talent, but if someone was too arrogant, he had to temper their arrogance. Many of his men had only learned their lesson after being beaten up.

A dangerous atmosphere shifted between the two sides, and a battle was about to break out. As the next bolt of lightning arrived, Kaido's side struck first, sending countless cannonballs flying towards the Redford. Shanks quickly drew his sword and unleashed a black and red Haki-infused strike, causing the incoming cannonballs to explode in mid-air, creating a series of black clouds. The cannonballs that landed in the water created huge splashes, and as the water curtain fell, Kaido's men had already piloted their pirate ships to rush over.

In an instant, the sounds of battle filled the sea. It had been a long time since Tuanzi had participated in such a battle, and he seemed to miss it and be very excited. Taking advantage of his ability to go into the sea, he moved faster than the others. While the others rushed to the deck to fight, Tuanzi simply went straight for the heart of the enemy, taking down two of Kaido's ships. Those who wanted to capture Tuanzi were all swatted away by Tuanzi's claws. As for bullets, they couldn't even penetrate Tuanzi's skin.

Seeing this, Beckman and the others couldn't suppress the smiles on their faces. They thought to themselves that Moko was amazing. Not only did she have the captain completely under her control, but even her pet was extraordinary. They had never seen a sea king so fierce in a fight before, and it even knew to destroy the enemy's lair first.

"Woo-mi!"

Suddenly, Ella's terrified voice rang out from the side. Beckman was about to step forward when he saw Ella swat the enemy wielding the knife with a single claw, causing him to vomit blood. Yes, you read that right, that soft little creature slapped someone so hard they vomited blood. Everyone seemed to hear the sickening sound of bones cracking. Wait, no one had told them that this little thing was so strong!

Beckman took a deep drag of his cigarette. He knew Miss Moko had a habit of keeping pets, but he'd never heard of any combat training for them. This pet was even fiercer than any of them. How on earth did his idiot captain manage to win over Miss Moko from among all these exotic creatures?

(Shanks: ((°?°ゞ)) You don't need to praise me so much~)

Tuanzi: You think we can beat this guy? This guy is even more rare and exotic than us, ridiculously strong, okay?

Seeing this, Kaido's gaze towards Shanks intensified. He hadn't expected Shanks to have Sea Kings under his command. If he could master the method of taming Sea Kings, wouldn't the world be at his mercy?

"Hahaha, Redhead, you're really intriguing me more and more!"

The massive spiked club clashed back and forth with Griffin, sparks flying from the metal's impact. Shanks paid no heed to Kaido's words, their Haki clashing, causing uncontrollable phenomena to appear in both the sky and the sea. Huge shockwaves surged outwards, creating massive waves, and even Onigashima, not far away, trembled violently.

"It's not a good thing if it interests you."

The two jumped back to the bow of their respective boats, their gazes meeting each other's without flinching.

"It seems we can't reach an agreement."

Kaido's voice grew increasingly low, his scales became more prominent, his dragon horns protruded continuously, and his body gradually swelled up, showing signs of transforming into a dragon. Shanks narrowed his eyes, and his aura gradually became more imposing.

"Lord Kaido!"

A crew member quickly walked up to Kaido and said something. Kaido's expression changed several times. He remained silent for a long time, and the dragon transformation on his body stopped. He lowered his head as if he was thinking about something. Finally, he seemed to have made up his mind. When he looked up at Shanks again, his eyes no longer held any fighting spirit.

This battle wasn't a matter of life or death. Kaido was just testing Shanks' strength, and Shanks was just there to warn Kaido. If it were really going to be a fight to the death, it wouldn't be such a small skirmish. However, a life-or-death duel was unnecessary. Shanks didn't want to make a name for himself in the Navy so early. His time was far from over.

"Hahaha, I have other important matters to attend to next, so it seems we have to call it a day. Let's continue this unfinished battle next time, Shanks."

After saying that, Kaido ordered his men to turn the ship around and sail back, seemingly having no intention of continuing the fight. A dark glint flashed in Shanks' eyes as he watched the receding ship's silhouette for a long time before turning back and heading towards the cabin.

"Let's go, let's leave Wano Country."

The fight started inexplicably and ended inexplicably. Although everyone was puzzled, they followed Shanks's orders, quickly packed up, and set sail back to port.

Beckman followed Shanks back to the captain's cabin. Pushing open the door, he saw a room illuminated by warm yellow light. The documents on the table had all been organized and compiled by Moko. At this moment, Moko was sitting on a recliner by the window, flipping through Shanks's logbook. The warm yellow light illuminated Moko's delicate profile, and the light in her eyes was warm and bright. She was like a person who had stepped out of a painting, elegant and serene, making one reluctant to disturb her.

"There's a document on the table from Yubi. Doflamingo has arrived in Wano Country. If I'm not mistaken, he's probably here to see Kaido."

As she spoke, Moko turned another page of her journal, not asking a single question about the battle outside. Shanks heard her, but instead of paying attention to the intelligence report on the table, he looked at Moko's exposed legs. Her knees, exposed to the air, were slightly pink. Shanks frowned deeply at this sight, quickly washed his hands, casually hung his cloak on a pillar, and then immediately grabbed a blanket from the wardrobe and covered Moko's legs with it.

The weather near Onigashima is completely different from that of Wano Country. Wano Country has clear skies, but Onigashima is always shrouded in dark clouds, and the temperature outside is therefore very low. There is no fireplace for heating in the room, and it carries a bit of a chilly air.

Actually, this temperature wasn't enough to make Moko feel cold. Shanks also knew that Moko was no longer the little girl who hadn't mastered Haki. But Shanks still felt sorry for Moko when he saw her like this.

Shanks remembers that Moko used to be most afraid of the cold. Every winter, he would heat up the room beforehand and wrap Moko up like a chubby little ball of fluff. Moko was so cute like that. But when did Moko stop being afraid of the cold? Even after all this time, Moko is still so thin. Sometimes, even when she's sitting there, Shanks still feels like Moko will disappear in the next second. That feeling of not being able to hold onto Moko terrifies Shanks.

Even when facing a sea emperor, Shanks showed no fear or concern. But when he returned to his room and saw Moko, who was about to disappear into the dim light, Shanks admitted that he was afraid.

Before finding Moko, his belief was simply to stay alive. Only by staying alive could he find Moko and fulfill the captain's wish. But after finding Moko, he became increasingly timid. He wasn't afraid of getting hurt, but getting hurt would make Moko sad. He wasn't afraid of dying, but if he died, what would happen to his little Moko? Who would protect her then? It was all because he was too weak, because he hadn't protected Moko-chan well.

Seeing that Shanks had no intention of reading the intelligence report, Beckman reluctantly picked up the report and read it carefully. The content was short, just one line, but it made Beckman's brow furrow deeply. Doflamingo—what was he doing in Wano Country? He hadn't expected Kaido to be involved with this man, and that they'd met privately more than once or twice. While this was a bit unexpected, it wasn't a major problem. In any case, what these two were doing didn't pose a threat to the captain's plans for the time being; he could leave it for now.

"Should we have Yubi investigate Doflamingo and Kaido's situation thoroughly?"

Moko pinched Shanks' cheek, pulling him out of his self-blame. Shanks snapped out of his thoughts, shook his head, knelt on one knee beside Moko, wrapped his arms around her waist, and buried his head in her chest. He was fine when they left, but now he was acting all cute again for some reason. Moko smiled gently, put the logbook aside, and gently stroked Shanks' soft red hair.

Beckman raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint smile curving his lips, and silently left the room to leave the two of them alone, thoughtfully closing the door behind him as he departed.

The room fell silent. Neither Moko nor Shanks spoke first. Under the warm, dim light, Moko gently stroked Shanks' head, comforting him with gestures only the two of them understood, just like countless times when they were children.

The desk lamp stood quietly, its warm yellow light gently seeping into every inch of space. The shadows of the two people on the ground were closely intertwined, and time seemed to stand still at this moment, as if the world consisted only of the two of them.