Though quite livid, Marunomi still had enough sense to decide that Temari was the one she wanted to devour at that moment. The Sand ninja had already been weakened by her fight with her and thus was a vulnerable target. Plus, she had been deprived of eating her once already and now wanted her all the more.
Marunomi's impossibly long tongue weaved in between Tenten and Sakura and met its target as it wrapped around Temari. The Sand ninja was shocked, but could do nothing to resist the long appendage that now constricted her. Tenten and Sakura themselves were so surprised that they couldn't even think to react.
Marunomi retracted her tongue, pulling it back into her mouth, and sent Temari flying along with it. Only Temari's fan was left behind, which fell harmlessly to the ground. As Temari flew across the field, she could see that Marunomi's mouth had opened tremendously wide. Wide enough, in fact, that Temari's head, or even her whole body could fit inside it. She then came to the horrific realization that that was exactly what Marunomi intended. She was going to eat her whole.
Right on target, Temari's head landed directly in Marunomi's mouth. The rogue ninja's jaws clamped down and her arms grabbed Temari's sides to secure her.
"Temari!" Tenten and Sakura cried out in terror, hardly believing what they were seeing.
Wasting no time, Marunomi loosened her jaws and pushed more of Temari into her mouth. With a powerful gulp, she sent her head into her esophagus.
Temari's heart raced as she tried to cope with the situation before. However, it was hard enough just for her mind to process what was happening to her. It had all happened so fast and it was all so surreal that a part of her mind refused to believe it was even happening. But it was happening. Temari was being eaten alive, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Marunomi swallowed up more and more of the girl, making her way past her chest and waist. As Temari's body entered the stomach, Marunomi's belly began to surge out even more, inflating like a large fleshy balloon. With only the girl's legs left, Temari made short work of them, cramming them down her gullet. Finally, she closed her mouth around Temari's feet and, with one last decisive gulp, Marunomi had completely swallowed her.
Her meal completed, Marunomi exhaled and moved her hands to sides of her belly, which was now enormous. While the Ino and Hinata orbs had given her a sizeable potbelly, having the entirety of Temari in her stomach had turned her abdomen into a monstrous orb. The rogue ninja cupped her hands beneath her large underbelly to help support her new weight. She was filled with a sense of euphoria as her stomach moaned in pleasure, finally having a nice filling meal.
"Ahh...much better," she said before letting out a heft belch.
Tenten and Sakura, meanwhile, stood stunned in horror, their minds trying to come to terms what they had just seen. Tenten, in particular, was feeling quite disturbed. Not just because Temari had been eaten alive, but because Temari, the girl who cause her so much grief and make her feel inadequate, had been eaten alive. If Temari, who had trounced her so easily in the chunin exams, couldn't defeat this monster, then what chance did she and Sakura have? While Tenten remained silent, Sakura worked up the nerve to speak.
"You...ate her whole. How...How is that possible?"
Still preoccupied with her full stomach, Marunomi also didn't even register what Sakura had said. After a delayed reaction, she looked at the pink-haired ninja idly.
"Oh...this?" she said, indicated her swollen belly. She paused for a moment as if in contemplation. "Well, I suppose I may as well tell you. As I'm sure you know, we Konaka users can absorb the traits and abilities of anything we eat. So, in anticipation of my feast today, I helped myself to the meat of the Kaiser Toad."
"Kaiser...Toad?" Sakura said.
"A rare species of toad native to this region," Marunomi said. "Like most toads, it can stretch its tongue out to catch its prey, but the Kaiser Toad, like myself, is quite voracious. It has an elastic stomach that can fit prey as large or even larger than itself. But the truly wonderful thing about the toad is the incredibly tough texture of its skin."
Tenten and Sakura's eyes widened. Suddenly, the pieces began to come together their heads.
"It's an extremely durable creature," said Marunomi. "Its hide is so thick it can fend off almost any enemy attack. And its meat, while considered a delicacy, is incredibly tough. Even a stomach as powerful as mine takes over a day to digest its flesh. And...well, I'm sure you can connect the dots on your own."
Indeed they could. Tenten and Sakura now understood they were essentially facing a Human-Kaiser Toad hybrid. A being with an almost impenetrable defense that could also eat them alive. And to make matters worse, now she had eaten Temari, which meant that...
"Well, I think that's enough," said Marunomi, her demeanor becoming much more stern. "You little brats have ruined my plan. I can't stand the sight of you. So I'm going to send you to my stomach...NOW!"
Marunomi opened her mouth wide. Tenten and Sakura readied themselves, thinking she may launch her tongue again, but it did not come out. Suddenly, they felt a slight breeze push against them from behind. Steadily, the breeze grew stronger until it became a powerful gust. Tenten and Sakura were baffled, wondering where the wind was coming from, but then, with horror, they realized the wind was converging directly towards Marunomi. Or, to be more precise, her mouth. Marunomi was using Temari's wind jutsu to create a vacuum and suck the two girls into her gullet.
"Tenten! Grab onto something!" Sakura cried.
"Right!" Tenten replied.
As instructed, Tenten grabbed onto a nearby tree and Sakura did the same. The vacuum grew stronger and stronger until a cyclone began to form around Marunomi's mouth. The wind grew so intense that it pulled Sakura and Tenten off their feet, their firm grip on the trees being the only thing keeping them from being pulled into the cyclone. They held on for dear life, knowing that if they were to fall into the cyclone there would be no escape and they would be doomed to be swallowed up by the rogue ninja.
*What happens next?
