One Piece: Building the Roxas Empire

At the dock of Gyro City, after a sleepless day and night of emergency repairs, the Iron Blood and several other warships that still had intact frames finally restored their former majesty in appearance. However, many of the facilities and furniture inside the ships were reduced to ashes in the fierce battle, leaving the whole place in ruins.

At the same time, the Roxas Pirates, a group of plunderers who call the ocean their home, fully demonstrated their pirate nature and conducted a carpet search of Gyro Castle, taking all the treasures and resources in the city into their pockets.

The residents of Gyro City were filled with fear and helplessness in the face of this sudden change. They had never expected that the powerful navy, once regarded as the guardian of the sea, would be defeated by pirates in this battle, and the peace and order of the past collapsed in an instant.

Shrouded in fear, the residents chose silence and obedience, not daring to show any resistance for fear that they would anger these ferocious pirates. They could only watch them plunder at will, their hearts filled with helplessness and despair.

Although the Roxas Pirates acted in an overbearing manner, they also showed a certain degree of restraint in the process. They mainly robbed the necessary supplies and treasures, and did not indiscriminately massacre innocent civilians.

After all, the fierce battle with the navy had severely damaged their vitality, and all members were injured. At this moment, they were more eager to evacuate Gyro City quickly to restore their strength, rather than continue to entangle here. Therefore, after looting, they did not stay for long, but chose to evacuate quickly with the spoils, leaving behind a mess of Gyro City and the residents of the city who were stunned and sighing.

On the deck of the Ironblood, which had undergone emergency repairs, the charred marks left by the raging flames had been carefully cleaned up without a trace, as if the fierce battle had never happened. Darius stood tall at the edge of the dock, his eyes deep and determined.

At this time, Liuli, a gentle yet capable woman, walked forward slowly and reported with an extremely respectful attitude: "Master, although time is tight for the repair of your private cabin, we have tried our best to restore it to its former appearance. There may still be a trace of burnt smell in the air, but please rest assured, within three or two days, this trace of smell will surely dissipate with the wind."

Darius smiled gently upon hearing this, and gently embraced Liuli in his arms, his tone full of doting and recognition: "Liuli, you don't need to mind these trivial matters. As a pirate, it is common for me to live in the open air. I have survived on an isolated island for more than two years before, but I am not so pretentious. However, you have performed very well in this crisis."

After hearing this, Liuli's cheeks turned slightly red, her eyes sparkled with happiness, and she responded in a softer voice: "Thank you for your praise, Master. I have been following you for such a long time, and I also train every day."

Darius nodded with satisfaction and said seriously, "We are pirates. As pirates, even if you usually hide in a safe place and don't need to fight the enemy head-on, you still need to have the most basic combat capabilities, not to mention that you are my most trusted subordinate. By the way, how is the development of the Whispering Fruit going? Can you hear the voices of humans?"

Liuli listened and nodded slightly, and said seriously: "It's OK, but you must respond."

"Response?" Darius was puzzled.

A sly and charming smile quietly blossomed from the corner of Liuli's mouth. Her beautiful face slowly approached, and her lips, which were as pink and attractive as peach blossoms in spring, gently covered Darius' lips. Although Darius seemed to react calmly, he unconsciously hugged her gently, as if all this was within his expectations.

However, at this warm and subtle moment, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly sounded in Darius' mind: "Master, this is the new devil fruit ability that I have developed. You should be able to feel it clearly, right?" This voice was like the sound of nature, which made Darius' heart tremble.

Darius quickly separated his lips from Liuli's, his eyes flashing with curiosity and surprise: "The voice just now seemed to appear directly in my mind!"

Liuli's face blossomed into a gentler and more charming smile. She did not speak, but sealed her lips again, skillfully using the power of the Whisper Fruit to whisper in Darius' mind: "That's right, Master. As long as the other party is receptive, we can communicate with each other."

After hearing this, Darius pondered the mystery of this ability in his heart. Just as he was about to ask more, he found himself captured by Liuli's soft but firm lips again. He felt a little playful and wanted to try out Liuli's ability. He also asked in his heart: "This ability, does it mean that I need to kiss someone every time I use it?"

As if she had sensed Darius's doubts, Liuli quickly opened her lips, her eyes full of anxiety and seriousness. She slightly opened her lips, worried that Darius might misunderstand her, but she did not make any sound. Instead, she used the power of the Whisper Fruit again to explain to Darius: "Master, you are overthinking. I only kissed you to show you my power. As long as the other party is willing, I can have a spiritual conversation at any time. And if I can touch the other party's body, I can see the truth behind his words."

After saying that, Liuli gently pulled up Darius's big hand, and the two held hands tightly, as if at this moment, their hearts were also closely connected. Liuli continued to use her unique ability to convey the message of warmth and trust to Darius, making Darius deeply feel the extraordinaryness of this ability.

Darius gently put his arm around Liuli's waist, and brushed his fingertips across her smooth forehead. He said with a somewhat playful tone, "Why are you so nervous? Of course I completely trust you."

Liuli felt relieved when she heard that. She knew that she had spent the longest time with Darius and was well aware of his cold character. She was afraid that there would be a misunderstanding between them. But it was precisely because of Darius's coldness, rebelliousness, confidence and strength that she was crazy about him.

"Yes, my abilities should be enough to help the master solve his problems!" Liuli's words revealed tenderness and determination, with a proud gleam in her eyes, longing for Darius's recognition and approval.

Hearing this, Darius raised his lips with an approving smile: "Indeed, it is a very good ability, but you should not call yourself a 'slave' all the time. Be more confident. You are my Darius' woman, much more noble than ordinary women."

Liuli listened and showed an attitude of admitting her mistake: "Yes, I will definitely correct it."

Darius continued, "With the blue crystal of the Hypnosis Fruit and your Whispering Fruit, if you two work together, you will be able to catch all the spies hiding on the ship one by one."

Liuli nodded firmly after hearing that. She hated those navy spies. They were like a time bomb. In Boro City, Kowloon Town, and Gyro City, their Roxas Pirates had encountered huge crises three times, all because of the undercover agents from the navy and the World Government. One can imagine how big a threat these spies posed to the pirate group.

"Master, please rest assured. Sister Blue Crystal and I will do our best to not only find all the spies, but also expose those pirates with ill intentions and betrayal to ensure the safety of our pirate group." Liuli's tone was full of determination and loyalty, which made Darius deeply relieved.

"Very good, I will leave this matter to you." Darius nodded with satisfaction.

While the two were having a heartwarming conversation, Ah Shen hurried over and reported solemnly, "Captain, the casualties have been counted."

Darius looked at Ashen and motioned for him to continue reporting.

A Shen continued, "In this battle, the Roxas Pirates suffered heavy losses, with their numbers reduced to 4,022. More than two-thirds of the brothers remained on this battlefield forever, and nearly half of the cadres died at the hands of the navy. Among the more than 4,000 survivors, more than a thousand were seriously injured or had limbs missing, and the rest were also injured."

Darius nodded solemnly upon hearing this, but then a barely perceptible determination and pride flashed across his eyes, and he patted Ah Shen on the shoulder and said, "Yes, we did pay a heavy price for this battle. However, compared to the losses in the last battle in Kowloon Town, this loss can be considered lucky. Moreover, this time we faced a navy three times ours, but we still won in the end. This shows that you all have expressions."

Then, Darius also said with emotion: "Besides, war always results in casualties, there is nothing we can do about it. What about the navy? We have lost more than 8,000 people this time, and how many more have died in the navy!"

A Shen said proudly: "We also achieved great results in this battle. We killed more than 10,000 navy soldiers, and those navy soldiers who escaped by chance must have evacuated with varying degrees of pain. Even though we were attacked by the navy at the beginning and fell into a passive position, we still won in the end. All these brilliant achievements are all thanks to you, Lord Darius, for defeating Slit."

What Ah Shen said was not false, nor was there any suspicion of flattery. His praise was not mixed with flattery. In fact, it was precisely because of Darius's extraordinary strength that the Roxas Pirates were able to hold their ground under the sudden naval attack.

The sudden attack put the pirate group at a disadvantage instantly. Coupled with the absolute advantage in numbers of the navy, many pirates became timid, and some even chose to surrender to the navy or simply escape.

However, Darius used swift and decisive means to not only intimidate those wavering crew members, but also inspire their fighting spirit. Otherwise, even if they could win in the end, the price paid by the Roxas Pirates would be extremely heavy, and they might even repeat the tragedy of the Battle of Kowloon Town, losing more than 90% of their manpower. Now, they won the battle at the cost of only losing two-thirds of their troops. Even if it was a tragic victory, it was undoubtedly something to be thankful for.

Darius nodded slightly, his eyes firm and deep. He had no intention of letting those traitors go. He said in a cold voice: "Before we continue to sail, there is still an important thing to be done. Pass the order to assemble all members of the Roxas Pirates."