One Piece: Building the Roxas Empire

The fierce battle between the two sides continued for a long time in the sky above Kowloon Town. The confrontation between the Navy and the Roxas Pirates was like an endless storm, devouring the lives and wills of the soldiers on both sides.

From the first light of dawn to the deep night, and from the starry sky to the morning glow, during this long day and night, the battlefield became a symphony of death and courage, and every minute and every second witnessed unyielding and sacrifice. Soldiers on both sides were exhausted, with tired but determined light flashing in their eyes.

In this chaos, the contest between Darius and Slit was particularly eye-catching. Darius thought that he could easily win with his upgraded strength and awakened Precognitive Haki, but now he was covered with wounds and his breathing was as heavy as a drum. He looked at Slit opposite him and whispered in admiration: "Your physical strength is beyond imagination! As an awakened animal-type devil fruit, your recovery ability is also amazing."

Originally, Darius thought that his strength was enough to defeat Slit, however, the substitute admiral's physique and quick recovery far exceeded his expectations.

Even though Darius had recovered from his injuries with the skill "Last Stand", after a whole day of brutal fighting, Slit, the awakener of animal-type abilities, was still as energetic as the rising sun. On the other hand, Darius's domineering aura and physical strength gradually became insufficient, making it difficult for him to maintain the high-intensity confrontation.

In order to defeat Slit, Darius gave it his all, pouring out every skill and every bit of strength without reservation, but even so, the balance of victory did not tilt towards him.

At this moment, Slit's face became more gloomy, and his heart was surging with incredible waves. Since yesterday, he has always had the upper hand. Even after Darius used an unknown ability to recover from his injuries and his strength increased a lot, Slit had never been at a disadvantage.

But he had never expected that the strength and perseverance of this pirate was far beyond his expectations. Although he was in such an unfavorable situation, he never panicked at all. He was like a giant beast hidden in the deep ocean, and it was difficult to grasp his true horror.

Sleet was panicking, he didn't understand why Darius could be so calm, he was obviously the one who had the upper hand all the time. The other party's calmness and indifferent eyes made Sleet realize that he must get rid of him today, otherwise he would definitely grow to the same level as Whitebeard, Golden Lion and Roger in the future.

He resolutely raised his hand and gently wiped away the blood that had inadvertently seeped from the corner of his eyebrow. The action revealed an unquestionable determination and resolve. Then, he took a deep breath, his eyes were like torches, and he declared in a deep voice: "I swear by the honor of the name of Vice Admiral of the Navy, Black Tiger, today, I bet my life and swear to bring you to justice and never let you escape the punishment of justice!"

After that, Slit launched another fierce attack, each attack was carried with the force of thunder, as if he wanted to pour all his anger and determination into this contest. Facing this overwhelming attack, Darius was exhausted, but he still fought hard. He knew that after this night of fierce fighting, although he was unwilling to give up, he had to admit that Slit's strength was indeed slightly better at the moment, and the other party was also an awakened animal ability, and his physical strength and recovery ability were even stronger than his.

However, Darius was not completely desperate, because he always had his own trump card.

It's a pity that the Demonic Sublimation is in its cooldown period and cannot be used. Otherwise, with the continuous blood recovery of the Demonic Sublimation skill, he would definitely be able to kill Slit.

Suddenly, the tranquility of the dock was torn apart by deafening gunfire. In the Roxas Pirates, some pirates suddenly cried out in fear, almost screaming in despair: "It's the navy! The navy reinforcements have arrived!"

This shout was like a heavy burden that broke the camel's back, making the pirates, who had been fighting all night and were exhausted physically and mentally, feel unprecedented pressure. Their mental and physical strength had already reached their limits, and every bit of persistence seemed so difficult. The casualties on both sides were shocking. Everyone was relying on their tenacious will to hold on, from ordinary soldiers to pirate cadres and naval lieutenants, without exception.

In this brutal battle, the battle between Captain Darius of the Roxas Pirates and Vice Admiral Slit, the strongest men on both sides, became the focus of all attention.

Because there was no winner between them, neither the navy nor the pirates would back down. However, at this stalemate, a naval force suddenly joined in, like a huge rock thrown into the lake, instantly breaking the original balance and causing the morale of the pirates to plummet.

Facing this sudden change, Darius's eyes flashed with determination. He knew that it was meaningless to continue fighting, and after a whole day of fighting, Darius was also sure that he could not kill Slit yet, and the intention to retreat that had already sprouted in his heart became more firm at this moment.

Darius gritted his teeth and shouted with all his might: "Brothers, retreat! Retreat immediately!" This order seemed to be a shot of adrenaline for all the pirates. They all rushed towards the pirate ship anchored not far away as if they had been pardoned.

"That's all for today. Let's leave our victory to next time!" Darius kept a safe distance from Slit while retreating. There was a hint of unwillingness in his words, but also expectations for the future.

When Slit heard this, his face became even colder. He stared coldly at Darius' back. Darius was younger than him, and his devil fruit was stronger than his tiger fruit. He still had a lot of room to grow. On the contrary, he had almost reached the limit of his growth. He said coldly, "Do you think you can escape from the battlefield if you want to?"

Darius's mouth drew a cold smile, and then he turned and ran away. If he hadn't awakened the future-foreseeing Observation Haki, it would have been difficult to escape. However, at this moment, he had mastered the power of foreseeing the future. Although his foreseeing power was slightly inferior to Slit's, retreating had become easy for him.

Seeing this, Slit followed without hesitation and started to chase. However, the gap in strength between the two men had quietly narrowed. Facing this scene, Darius was not only fearless, but even more calm.

At the same time, A Shen and the others followed the order and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The four of them - A Shen, Red Chain Snake, Bakuki, and Blue Crystal - worked together to fight Rear Admiral Philip to a draw. If A Shen and Red Chain Snake were the only ones, they would probably not be able to match this powerful navy.

This experience made Ah Shen deeply aware of the gap between himself and the truly powerful people in this vast ocean. He knew that at his age, his strength had reached its peak, and in the next few years, his strength would be difficult to improve or even decrease. The same was true for Bakugui. Time was unforgiving, and Red Chain Snake and Blue Crystal still had room for growth.

Once the order to retreat was given, the members of the Roxas Pirates responded quickly and evacuated the battlefield. In this life-and-death race, pirates who were weak or seriously injured unfortunately became the objects of abandonment. In this cruel ocean, the law of survival is cruel and ruthless. Only by running faster can you avoid becoming the next victim.

After several hours of hasty escape, the once glorious fleet of the Roxas Pirates had been reduced from fifty-six warships to only seven broken ships, each of which bore the scars of baptism by fire, like lonely souls drifting in the sea.

After listening to the detailed reports from his subordinates, A Shen's tense nerves finally relaxed for a moment. He sighed softly, and it seemed that even the air was filled with gratitude for surviving the disaster.

"Ah God..." At this moment, a low and cold voice broke the temporary tranquility. The person who came was Darius. Although Darius was covered with bruises and tightly wrapped in bandages at this moment, he still stood with steady steps, revealing an indescribable tenacity and strength.

"Captain..." Ashen turned around quickly, his eyes full of awe and complexity. The thrilling duel with Philip made him deeply aware of the insurmountable gap between himself and Darius. Even with the Red Chain Snake, he could not shake Philip in the slightest, and Philip was just a deputy general under Slit. Thinking of this, Ashen could not help but be shocked by Darius's feat of fighting Slit alone and remaining undefeated.

He believed that Darius would become even stronger in the future, but what about himself! He was already 46 years old, and his strength was still at its peak. In a few years, would he be able to keep up with Darius?

Darius had no idea what he was thinking, so he asked, "Have you figured it out? How many people were lost?" Darius went straight to the point, his tone revealing unquestionable majesty.

Ah Shen's expression darkened instantly, and he replied solemnly, "We... only have about 2,000 people left, and the cadre team has also suffered heavy losses. Except for me, Red Chain Snake, Explosion Ghost, Blue Crystal, Strange Crow, Emerald, and Black and White Impermanence, the rest of the brothers have fallen into the hands of the navy, and their lives are unknown."

Darius felt mixed emotions when he heard this. Although Darius always said that the strong survive and the weak die, which is the law of this sea, he has been with these people for several years after all.

He knew very well that the navy had also come out in full force this time, with 23 warships, more than 10,000 elite soldiers, and elite troops sent by the headquarters to help, so their military strength was no less than that of Roxas.

However, the final tragic defeat was still hard for Darius to accept. He originally thought that he could defeat Sleater, but he overestimated his own strength and underestimated the strength of Sleater, the candidate for the Navy Admiral.