One Piece: Shanks' Little Jasmine

Chapter 99 Nameless Dust

"If you think it's good, then let him keep it. This is for you."

With the start of work time fast approaching, Sakazuki finally revealed his purpose, taking a green ointment from his pocket and handing it to Moko. Moko looked puzzled and gave Sakazuki a questioning look.

Sakazuki pursed his lips, his furrowed brows indicating that he was struggling to organize his thoughts and trying his best not to frighten Moko.

(Author passing by~ You know you're usually scary, always with that bitter face.)

Sakazuki: Hmm?

Author: ヾ(＞Д＜;))))..... Escape~~）

"The ointment, I'm sorry about yesterday."

He practically uttered the words one by one. This was the best sentence Sakazuki could come up with that wouldn't scare Moko. Moko stared wide-eyed, seemingly understanding, but a hint of a smile was clearly in her eyes.

So Sakazuki came here specifically to deliver medicine, just because of last night? Moko felt a little helpless. Actually, she wasn't in much pain, and thanks to her healing power, the swelling on her wrist subsided quickly. But looking at Sakazuki's taciturn appearance, Moko couldn't help but vaguely recall that when she was a child, there seemed to be someone like him who wasn't good at talking. She wondered where he was now. Thinking this, Moko picked up the ointment and gave Sakazuki a cute smile.

"General Sakazuki, please don't worry about it. I'm fine. But thank you for the ointment, General Sakazuki. I will use it carefully."

The spot on his palm where Moko's fingertips had touched felt slightly warm. Sakazuki felt his heart, which he had managed to suppress, begin to pound uncontrollably again. Moko's smile was like the most delicate rose at dawn, blooming brilliantly, each petal brimming with affection. Every curve of her smile was overflowing with endless tenderness and warmth, making one feel as if they were in a spring dream, filled with boundless imagination, and longing to gently capture this rare romance and beauty.

“So beautiful…” Sakazuki couldn’t help but exclaim, but Moko blinked as if she hadn’t heard him.

"General Sakazuki, did you say something?"

Moko's voice startled Sakazuki awake. Seeing Moko staring at him with her incredibly beautiful orange-pink eyes, Sakazuki quickly shifted his gaze to the pink roses in the vase.

"The roses are beautiful."

"So Admiral Sakazuki likes roses? I thought he would prefer more vibrant colors. Here, I'll give this one to Admiral Sakazuki."

Moko plucked a rose from the newly pruned branches and presented it to Sakazuki. Gazing into Moko's bright eyes, Sakazuki couldn't bring himself to refuse and accepted the tiny rose from his large hand.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. If General Sakazuki likes them, I'll have Aesop send some over tomorrow."

Moko loves flowers. Since she was little, there has always been a bouquet of flowers in Moko's room. This habit was entirely spoiled by Shanks. Shanks would give Moko flowers every day. Even if he hadn't been to the island for a long time, Shanks would always find all kinds of beautiful flowers to give to Moko. In addition, her father would often give her mother flowers. Over time, Moko got used to seeing flowers every day when she opened her eyes.

Although Garp can be quite oblivious at times, he knows his children's hobbies very well. Because of this, the villa's courtyard and the sea cliff are filled with all kinds of flowers. These are all gifts that Garp prepared for Moko's arrival. Moko naturally likes them and cuts some of her favorite flowers to put in her office every day.

But ever since Borsalino and Kuzan saw it, they started making all sorts of strong demands for flowers every day. Moko knew that these two rascals never even came into their office, and their documents were delivered directly to her. She didn't know who they intended to show the flowers in their office. Moko told them to go to the garden to pick the flowers themselves, but they refused. Faced with their unreasonable demands, Moko had no choice but to agree to help change the bouquets in the two rascals' office every day.

Since Sakazuki rarely comes to Moko's office, and they don't interact much at work, and Sakazuki doesn't seem like someone who likes flowers and plants, Moko has never asked him about these things. Now that she's discovered that Sakazuki likes roses, this unexpected contrast is quite amusing to Moko.

"Thank you for your help."

He intended to refuse, but for some reason the words came out as an agreement. Sakazuki felt a little annoyed, but also seemed to have a secret expectation.

"You're welcome."

Moko readily agreed, and after delivering the medicine, Sakazuki, unsure of what else to say, drank the tea in his cup in one gulp and stood up.

"I'm going back to work now."

"Alright, goodbye, General Sakazuki."

Moko nodded, stood up and said goodbye to Sakazuki. Sakazuki glanced at Moko one last time, then turned and strode away, leaving only lingering echoes in the air.

"Goodbye."

Moko blinked and softly replied, "Goodbye."

Walking down the empty corridor, Sakazuki gently stroked the stem of a rose with his fingers, a stiff smile curving his lips, but the next second he reverted to his usual stern expression. The rose was now blooming beautifully in the pocket on the left side of Sakazuki's chest.

After Moko finished changing the bouquets in Borsalino and Kuzan's offices, Aesop returned with documents that needed processing. The documents were so numerous that they were almost piled up like a small mountain, and Aesop had to find a larger cart to push them back.

Moko wouldn't normally have had to deal with so many documents, but unfortunately, those two delegated almost all of their tasks to her, causing her workload to increase exponentially. In addition, Aesop was too inexperienced and had no idea how to handle these tasks. Moko had to handle all the miscellaneous matters at the Navy Headquarters herself, as well as the annual summaries sent by the Navy Division. If Moko didn't have to deal with so many things on her mind, she would have a real headache seeing all of this.

Moko had prepared the documents that required the Admiral's signature in advance, and then began to handle the other documents selectively according to their importance and urgency. The first thing to do was to deal with the Ministry of Finance's allocation of funds to the various naval divisions. The division's food, lodging, transportation, and the salaries of the naval personnel all needed to be considered. How much to allocate to Bailey was a question that the Admiral needed to consider, but now it had all become Moko's responsibility.

Looking at the financial statements for the past two years, Moko slightly furrowed her beautiful eyebrows. Was the World Government suppressing the Navy? On the surface, there didn't seem to be any major problems, and even the allocated Beli quota had increased. However, someone as economically as Moko would easily spot the issues in the statements.

The Navy's finances rely almost entirely on the World Government. Conversely, the Navy's own industries are few and far between, and because they are not particularly famous, their income is pitifully low. No wonder that while the Admirals and Vice Admirals are distinguished, the other Navy personnel live in such simple accommodations.

Although the amount provided by the World Government on the report has increased, the restrictions have also increased. Many essential matters cannot be funded by the government. The Navy Headquarters can only use its own private assets to fill the gap, and even then, it is only barely enough to cover the shortfall.

What is the World Government trying to do? Aren't they afraid of a reaction from the Navy? As the world's largest and most recognized navy, and the only military force openly belonging to the World Government, if the Navy is pushed too far, the rule of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons will likely be on the verge of collapse.

However, now is not the time for them to fall out. Moko suppressed the thoughts that had arisen in her heart, picked up her pen and began to allocate the various funds. Within the various rules and regulations, Moko maximized the allocation of funds from all branches into the eligible application items. The World Government's Beli, why not take it? Trying to outsmart her is too naive. Anyway, Moko had already found a reason for Sengoku to take the Beli. As for the matter of persuading him, that would have to be left to Sengoku himself.

Aesop stood by and helped put the documents that Moko had finished processing back on the cart and pushed it back to the file room. The sun finally peeked out from behind the dense clouds, and strands of sunlight crept up onto Moko's shoulders. Sitting in the sunlight, Moko was so radiant and so beautiful.

Aesop's hands clenched unconsciously, his eyes filled with resentment and inferiority. As Miss Moko's assistant, he was unable to help her with any of her work. He was not outstanding in either intelligence or martial arts. Why did the Warring States Marshal choose him?

He had heard from his seniors that the vice admirals who served alongside vice admirals and admirals were all outstanding and versatile naval officers. Because Miss Moko's position did not allow her to have a vice admiral, Fleet Admiral Sengoku used the excuse of looking for an assistant to select someone from the logistics department. Originally, such a good thing would not have fallen to the trainee naval officer, but Iso was still singled out by Fleet Admiral Sengoku. This was not a bad promotion, but was he really qualified?

In order to be able to help Miss Moko, he studied and trained desperately, but he was still as weak as dust. The seniors were right, and General Sakazuki was right too. He was too weak. He was not worthy to stay by Miss Moko's side at all. A person like him was only fit to be lowly as dust. How could he, and how could he be qualified to covet Miss Moko, who was like a goddess?

Yes, who wouldn't like Moko? When he learned that he would become Miss Moko's assistant, he was overjoyed. Even in the face of ridicule and threats from his seniors, he did not give up the position. He thought he would become strong and reliable, and become a strong man that Miss Moko could say he was someone she could rely on. However, reality was more difficult and colder than he imagined. So much time has passed, and he is still weak. No matter what, he is just an unknown speck of dust standing in the corner looking up at Miss Moko.

There is no place for dust to exist beneath the goddess's feet, and he is even less qualified to stay by Miss Moko's side. But he will not give up. If one day of training is not enough, then two days, ten days, a month, a year after year. He will definitely become very strong and truly become an assistant qualified to stand behind Miss Moko!