Too late indeed. While preparing a response, she felt the claws dig into her skin, mostly around her clavicles. That hurt! But she could let the pain hold her back for long. Before her toes left the ground, she summoned a great deal of earth and covered herself in it and pulled herself back down.

It was a tug-of-war between the shadow's pull and Toph's bending that eventually swayed into the young girl's favor when she swatted at it with a rock-coated fist. It fell back, leaving gapes in her armor from where its claws had caught her.

Adrenaline was surging at that point so she couldn't feel the pain just yet, but there was no doubt that when everything calmed down, she'd be incredibly uncomfortable. After that, she decided her coating wasn't going anywhere, and continued doing her best to protect the Duos.