Chapter 169
The crazed Three-Tails no longer resembled its previous silly self. Its once chubby and slightly cute body now radiated a terrifying presence. Massive waves surged around the beast, with a waterspout reaching toward the sky. From afar, it looked like some celestial entity sucking up the entire lake.
Tobi had returned to his goofy self, giving a thumbs-up while hurling explosive tags into the tornado-like waterspout like they were free. Unfortunately, none of his bombs caused a splash. The waterspout's range was too massive; those tiny blasts were entirely ineffective.
"Three-Tails has gone berserk. This is bad," muttered the clone, whose long hair was blown into a tangled mess by the wind. His face was soaked with lake spray.
"We need to calm down Isobu," the clone said, dashing toward the Three-Tails. Occasionally, gusts of wind helped him speed through the forest.
Raindrops from the dispersed lakewater struck his body. Dead leaves swirled around him. An unshakable will—like the howling wind and icy water—settled deep within the clone's spirit.
Not far away, Tobi continued tossing bombs, still to no effect. To avoid being dragged in, he was now hugging a thick tree trunk, which made him look pretty ridiculous.
As the clone neared the tornado, the suction force grew stronger. It felt like an invisible tether was pulling him closer to the Three-Tails. The pressure sharpened his reflexes, allowing him to summon a blade of water as sharp as a knife.
"If I get pulled in, maybe my original body could handle it—but not this clone."
He plunged his long sword into the ground, bracing himself before resheathing it.
"Kaze (Wind)."
In an instant, the air around him shifted direction. Where the wind once pushed against him, it now flowed past him, encasing his body in a sphere of wind that shielded him from the violent external world.