One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 88 General's Bodyguard

"Dong dong dong."

"Miss Moko, your letter."

The young sailor stood at the door and respectfully handed the letter to Moko. The white envelope was decorated with intricate gold patterns, which, upon closer inspection, could be seen to be drawn with ink made from gold powder, glittering and extremely luxurious.

As soon as she received the letter from the young navy officer, he bowed hurriedly and left, as if chased by a raging beast. Mo was puzzled. Was this a den of dragons and tigers? Why did he look so scared?

It's normal that Moko didn't know, as the villa area wasn't a place that a junior naval officer could just come and go as he pleased, especially the central area where admirals and vice admirals lived. Normally, letters, packages, or notices were delivered by the vice admirals' or vice admirals' lieutenants. However, Moko's rank wasn't high enough to warrant a lieutenant, so Sengoku specifically found a junior naval officer in the logistics department to handle Moko's logistics.

Although Moko hasn't been at Marine Headquarters for long, her popularity is already comparable to Tina's, and even slightly higher due to her gentle nature. When Sengoku announced he would find an assistant for Moko in the Logistics Department, the department almost erupted into a fight. The scene was practically a chaotic melee. In the end, Sengoku randomly picked a new recruit to end the conflict. The lucky new recruit didn't know whether to laugh or cry, since the senior members of the Logistics Department were now looking at him with truly terrifying eyes (???^???)！

"Moko-chan, what's this?"

Tina didn't care about the little navy boy, but stared curiously at the envelope in Moko's hand. Seeing Tina's curiosity, Moko handed the envelope to her.

The envelope felt quite heavy in her hand. What was most striking was not the exquisite packaging, but the gold inkpad with a jasmine pattern on it. Tina seemed to remember something and suddenly turned to look at Moko.

"Moko-chan, this, this, this couldn't be an invitation from Nivvira, could it?!"

As a fashion industry that has emerged in the last two years, Nivvira's clothing designs are loved by girls of all ages, especially its high-end custom designs, which are highly sought after by women. However, Nivvira's high-end designs are not only expensive, but also only those who receive an invitation are eligible to purchase them. Tina loves Nivvira's clothes, but because she doesn't have an invitation, she can only admire them from afar.

Seeing Tina's shock, Smoker's expression remained unchanged. "Nifvira, what's that? A name for a dress? Why would a dress need a name? And isn't this just a letter? Why are you so shocked?"

"Niff Vera? The Nifvera whose custom-made models start at ten million Berries?"

Ain curiously approached Tina and looked at the envelope in Tina's hand. This was the first time Ain had ever seen an invitation.

"Pfft! Cough cough cough—"

Smoker suddenly spat out a mouthful of tea, coughing uncontrollably from the choking. A starting price of ten million Berries? Had he gone mad, or had the world gone mad? The look in his eyes when he looked at the envelope again was even more shocked than Tina's. What kind of clothes were these? They were comparable to a warship! Smoker couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to wear a warship.

"Tina, didn't you say you wanted to go to a party? You have to dress up nicely for a party. Nivvira's clothes this season are perfect for Tina and Ian. Why don't you go check them out while you're still on vacation?"

"But, but, Moko-chan, Nivvira's clothes are very expensive."

A single basic custom-made dress from Nivvira costs as much as Tina's salary for half a year, not to mention the banquet gowns, which are shockingly expensive.

"Let's all go and take a look. We should all dress up nicely for the banquet. Just choose whatever you like. Don't worry, Pele, I've booked the whole place."

Moko spoke with such extravagance, completely disregarding the amount of Berries she received. The "high-end custom-made" was just a gimmick; it simply meant better materials and more unique designs. Her own clothes, those of her children, and even Garp's everyday clothes were all essentially custom-made. The reason these high-end items were advertised so well was to better extract Berries from the nobility. Otherwise, how would she support Shanks and her crew? Large pirate crews and intelligence organizations are extremely reliant on Berries.

(Beckman: I knew it. The reason why the stupid captain doesn't know how to save money is because Miss Moko is super good at making peles.)

Shanks: (ヽ(°▽°)ノ Be envious, this is my Moko-chan!)

“Smoker too, it’s better to dress formally for the banquet. Nephrovira’s menswear is also very nice, let’s go take a look.”

Smoker instinctively wanted to shake his head. This was really too expensive. He had never spent so many Berries on clothes before. At most, he would spend more on cigars.

(Tina: A little more? (￢д￢))

Smoker: A billion.

Moko is always very generous to her family and friends. The more important thing about a gift is the sentiment, not its value in Berries. Understanding the meaning in Moko's eyes, Tina pursed her lips, a thought flashing through her eyes, before quickly returning to her usual cheerful self and putting her arms around Ain and Smoker.

"Let's go, let's go. This is Moko-chan's invitation. Moko-chan is right, we have to dress up nicely for the party."

“Tina is right, and aren’t we friends? Friends shouldn’t be so polite.” Moko chimed in from the side, echoing Tina’s words. Before Ain and Smoker could react, the matter was settled.

"Okay, it's decided then. We'll meet at the port tomorrow morning. Smoker, you have to come. Tina doesn't want to carry her own bag."

When Tina looked at Smoker, her expression changed. She pouted and her eyes held a threat, but the threat was not intimidating at all; it was more like a cat being affectionate.

The friendship between girls is simple and sincere. If you measure this friendship by Bailey, then this friendship is bound to not last. Ain also sincerely wants to be friends with Moko. Moko and Tina have both said so. If she still refuses, it will really hurt Moko's heart. She can't bear to see Moko disappointed.

Smoker met the three girls' sparkling eyes, sighed deeply, and nodded. Well, he'd better just obediently become a bag carrier, otherwise his clothes would be ruined again. Most importantly, he'd rather walk there himself than be tied up by Tina to the port tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

Hearing their agreement, Moko smiled again. Originally, she had planned to let Siyuka choose a few sets to send over, but Moko decided to take them to Sabaody and let them choose for themselves. Just then, a batch of large pearls of excellent quality arrived from Fishman Island, and she would choose some to make jewelry for Tina and Ain.

The next day, the group arrived at the port early to meet. When Tina and her two companions arrived, they saw three people with completely different personalities standing at the port, and they even felt like they hadn't woken up yet.

Since they were going out to play, none of them wore their navy uniforms; they all wore their usual clothes. This was Moko's first time going out with her girlfriends, so she dressed up specially in the morning.

A white halter-neck dress with overlapping layers of skirt, the length just reaching the knees. Long pink hair is casually draped behind her, with a white lace headband threaded through her hair and intertwined with the fishtail braid, tied at the end with a small bow. From a distance, it looks just like a strawberry cream cake, cute and delicate, making people fall in love with it.

Normally, Tina would have rushed over and hugged Moko right now. But where did those two generals next to her, who were clearly not in the same style as Moko, come from? Although they were wearing very ordinary clothes, they looked like two bodyguards no matter how you looked at them. The style was just wrong!

Tina seriously doubted that she was still dreaming, so she rubbed her eyes hard. Unfortunately, the two people in front of her were real. Then Tina pinched her arm hard.

"hiss!"

Smoker gasped, frowning as he looked at Tina with an innocent expression. Had he done anything to upset Tina this morning?

Does it hurt?

Tina was clearly asking a question she already knew the answer to. Smoker's expression was contorted with pain, veins bulging on his forehead, and his voice sounded like it was being squeezed out between his teeth.

"No pain!"

"Tina knew she was still dreaming, otherwise how could she have seen Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Aokiji?"

Smoker took a deep breath, having mentally reassured himself countless times, but in the end he couldn't bear to see Tina's self-deceptive behavior any longer, so he reached out and tapped Tina's forehead with his finger.

"Stop lying to yourself, you know you're awake."

Tina covered her head and stared at Smoker, hoping he would tell her he was joking. But Smoker didn't even blink, clearly reminding Tina that this was reality, not a hallucination. Were these two generals going shopping with them? Tina shook her head violently, exclaiming that it was impossible.

No matter how much it resembled a dream, Tina and her two companions still stepped forward to greet them respectfully.

"Admiral Kizaru, Admiral Aokiji." x3

"Ah."

The two generals nodded lazily, looking like they hadn't woken up yet. Seeing the questioning look Tina gave them, Moko nodded helplessly, confirming what Tina was thinking.

These two gentlemen came over early in the morning to freeload breakfast. They noticed that Moko's outfit was different from usual. Given that the headquarters was preparing for a banquet, the two immediately guessed that Moko was going out. They insisted on going with her and pitifully said that they didn't have a banquet dress.

Moko knew exactly what the two were up to. Last time, Borsalino was the first to return, and Kuzan was always resentful, secretly trying to poach her countless times. When Borsalino found out, he also had countless "friendly exchanges" with Kuzan. It wasn't until Moko went on vacation that the two finally calmed down a bit.

It's no wonder the two are like this. Mokoko heard from Garp that after completing their mission, the three admirals began to take on internal naval duties. There was no bad news coming out from Sakazuki's side, but things were in complete chaos for the other two. Every day, you could see the two admirals' vice admirals searching all over the Navy Headquarters for people. Sengoku was so angry that he got several gray hairs. Of course, this is what Garp said.

Moko's work ability is obvious to all. If we don't snatch her now, when will we? As soon as they heard that Moko was coming back, the two generals didn't even sleep in and went to the gate of Moko's villa early in the morning to keep watch.

"Today, our two generals will be our bodyguards. Tina, you don't need to treat them like generals. Let's go."

Moko's voice carried a hint of mockery as she raised an eyebrow at the two generals. Borsalino and Kuzan, upon hearing this, were not angry but instead nodded in agreement. Generals as bodyguards—what a high-class treatment! Tina had no idea how Moko had dragged her onto the ship until Moko stuffed a bright red cherry into her mouth.

The cherries were sent to Moko by Yubi through Shanks's side. They were big, sweet, and not sour at all, making them perfect as a fruit to accompany breakfast.

"So sweet."

"Right? These were picked from other islands. I picked a lot and brought them over. You can take some back with you when you go back later."

"Uh-huh!"

Since it was already a done deal that the two generals would go shopping together, and Moko-chan had said that it would be fine to treat the two generals as bodyguards, Tina was no longer worried.

"Thank you, Moko-chan."

When Ain looked at Moko, she was still a little shy, but she was much better than yesterday. As for the general next to her, Ain tried her best to ignore him.

Smoker and the two admirals sat on the other side near the edge of the ship. A plate full of red cherries was placed on the table. The three men did not interrupt the conversation between the three girls. The two admirals occasionally popped a cherry into their mouths. Smoker leaned against the edge of the ship and smoked a cigar. The white smoke quickly dissipated in the flowing sea breeze.

The weather is great today, with clear blue skies and shimmering reflections on the sea. Pearly waves gently ripple, making it a perfect day for a stroll.