The Blind Bandit (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 40: The Ozone part 2

"Argh, what a pain." Toriko grumbled a bit reaching down to pull the switch of his suit when a loud, thunderous roar came up from above and saw Kururu in her giant panther form and flying down towards them. Kururu flew down to get behind them and Toriko and Komatsu landed safely on her back. The actions startles Komatsu back to life. "What the?!" He squeaked out as the hunter explained happily, "Hey Kururu! What took so long?" The Snow Panther flew back towards the vine. It would've been fun if this wasn't terrifying! "W..WOW, TORIKO-SAN! WE'RE FLYING!" Komatsu shouted excitedly clearly enjoying the ride.

Bird sounds started to appear out of nowhere. Turning towards the sound, Drill Birds were flying right for them. Drill Birds are green-eyed, purple birds with small bodies about 1 meter in length and they weigh about 15 kilograms. Their orange-coloured beaks are long, sharp and slightly hooked and can pierce stone with ease. When attacking they resemble flying purple drills.

And that's exactly what they did. "Toriko-San, something's coming at us!" Komatsu shouted. "Hm?" Toriko went before shouting, "WHOA, WHAT THE!?" The Drill Birds were attacking them and damaging Kururu's body. Growing angry at the filthy creatures that dared to touch her, Kururu let out a ferocious growl before shooting cold blizzard towards the birds from her mouth.

The attacked worked but now the three were in a pickle. Using what was left of her strength, Kururu flew to the nearest leaf to safety. Once the landed, Kururu transformed back into her kitten form, causing Toriko and Komatsu to unexpectedly fall on the stalk. "Ow, that hurt..." Toriko said as he rubbed his rear end. Kururu let out a small growl as she licked her wounds the Drill Birds left. The kitten blinked in surprise when Toriko came up and lifted her into his arms. "FREAKIN' PESTS! NOW WE HAVE TO CLIMB ALL THAT AGAIN!" Toriko growled in annoyance.

A sudden freezing down draft rushed past them, causing them to look up in response. "W..what was that?!" Komatsu asked as he wrapped his arms around himself trying to warm up. Down draft...didn't that usually proceed the coming of a storm...? Oh...crap.. Toriko got a nervous thinking look, talking aloud for a moment, "This is..." He looked up again. "A blast of cold.. Don't tell me..." He stopped when it got pitch black in mere seconds.

"Huh? What now...? It suddenly went dark." Komatsu said.

"Look up, Komatsu. Take a look at...our opponent!" Toriko told him, drawing the smaller man's gaze up once more. "What...is it?" He asked.

"A monster of a cloud! Now this is what I call training. It's do or die. We may never return from this cumulonimbus!" It was a giant cloud that could reach hundreds of meters high, from time to time called a monk cloud or lightning cloud. It was beautiful as it was deadly, unleashing flash down-pours, lightning strikes and tornadoes. The turbulence and lightning made it impossible for aircraft. Speaking of lightning, a few flashed across the sky as the wind picked up at an incredible rate, blowing hard enough to take sod of the gorillas off the plant.

Toriko set Komatsu down and began to rummage through his bag, with Kururu resting on his shoulder. "What's happening? It was clear just second ago! Where'd the clouds come from?" Komatsu asked.

"We didn't notice the air closer to the ground becoming unstable. Unstable air rapidly ascends to produce a cumulonimbus. A cumulonimbus can form in a matter of minutes." Toriko explained looking into his bag for a few more minutes before bringing out some leafs and a breathing mask. "Good, found them! Oxygen leaves." Komatsu watched him put a leaf in the mask and handed the items to him. "Komatsu. Put these on."

"What is it?" Komatsu echoed taking his as well.

"An oxygen mask. It'll be hard to breathe soon." Toriko explained putting stuff away. "An oxygen mask? But there's a leaf in it." Komatsu said, looking at the mask in confusion. "It's a leaf from the oxygen tree. They only need a tiny bit of light to photosynthesis the water vapour and carbon dioxide in your breath into oxygen. They can still function one month after being plucked."