Chapter 213
Seeing Doflamingo retreating, Zixu didn't bother chasing him—he didn't even know where to chase him to.
He gave the tightly bound Sasori a pat. This guy was a valuable asset to Roran. His puppet mastery was second to none. If Zixu could convince him, Roran's giant puppets would gain a tremendous boost in strength.
There was no rush to return now. Sky City had landed and no longer needed to rely on Flame Cloud. Since they planned to establish communication and trade with other nations, staying temporarily in the Land of Wind was the perfect opportunity.
"Let's send these puppets back first. Kankuro's going to lose his mind with excitement." Zixu handed the sealing scroll containing the puppets to Rossinanti, telling him to stay alert while he took Sasori and left.
The Land of Wind lived up to its name. Year-round gales swept through the desert terrain, creating endless sandstorms. With shifting dunes and poor visibility, one wrong move could get someone hopelessly lost in the sea of sand.
But for Zixu, this was child's play. He moved through the terrain like he was walking a paved road, not even flinching as sand and grit pelted his body.
"It's honestly insane to build a nation in a place like this..." Zixu muttered, genuinely puzzled. Nothing but howling winds, broken rocks, and barren sand surrounded him. Vegetation was scarce, water even scarcer. There wasn't a damn thing here worth fighting over.
He didn't run into a single village or person on the way. He arrived back at the top of Roran without issue.
"Maybe there used to be villages, and they've just been buried under centuries of storms..." Zixu glanced at the fine grains underfoot. Without knowing this was Roran, he'd never guess this was anything more than ordinary desert sand.
Once inside, he found Sara organizing a full-scale operation. Countless miniature puppets poured from the body of a massive puppet, swarming the area to collect minerals and ferry them back like worker ants.
Finding her looking visibly anxious, Zixu dropped the bound Sasori behind him and approached.