"Yes, she'll do nicely," Marunomi said, pointing the Behemoth's Tongue at Tenten who was still struggling to get to her feet.

Suddenly, a yellow beam erupted from the gauntlet and flew straight towards Tenten. Seeing the beam coming towards her, Tenten forced herself back up and weakly raised a kunai, but it was to no avail. Once Tenten was back on her feet, the beam made contact, wrapping itself around her several times, almost as if it were a frog's tongue. Tenten cried out as the energy of the beam overtook her and her body began to glow.

"TENTEN!" cried Temari and Ino, still too weakened to intervene. They could only watch as their squad mate went through a strange transformation.

Before their eyes, Tenten's body was instantly compacted into a glowing ball, the size of a small melon. With the Tenten orb still wrapped up by the glowing beam, Marunomi yanked on the Behemoth's Tongue and reeled it in. Marunomi caught the orb in her hand and held it up, eyeing it fondly.

Temari and Ino looked on in shock.

"Wh...What have you done to Tenten?" said Temari.

Marunomi chuckled. "Like I said, the Behemoth's Tongue turns any living being into pure chakra," she said. "And your friend is quite an impressive size. She had a good amount of chakra in her. She'll make a wonderful meal."

"Wh...What?" said Ino incredulously.

Marunomi opened her mouth impossibly wide and placed the orb inside of it. In one quick motion, she gulped the orb down, sending it down her throat and into her stomach. Her belly swelled outwards, making her appear a few months pregnant. She tenderly rubbed the curve of her expanded middle and let out a soft burp.

"Tenten!" Ino cried. "You monster! You...You've killed..."

Marunomi giggled. "Oh, relax sweetie," she said. "Your friend is still alive. Even as a chakra orb, her consciousness still exists, and the transformation wears off after a while." She laughed again and looked down at her belly. "But she won't get that chance as she will die once I digest her." She looked back up at Temari and Ino who were finally back on their feet. "But enough about her, why don't the three of us have a bit more fun?"

Temari and Ino leapt to each other's side, and, still somewhat weakened, eyed the smug rogue ninja that they hadn't even managed to put a dent in. And now they were down one team member.

"How can we possibly beat her?" Tenten asked. "That rubbery skin of her makes her practically invincible."

Internally, Temari agreed that the situation looked pretty bleak, but as team leader she had to remain confident and reassuring to her remaining squad mate.

"Let's not worry about that now," Temari said. "Let's take it one step at a time. For now, we need to destroy the Behemoth's Tongue."

"R...Right," Ino said, trying to compose herself. "But how do we do that?"

Temari thought for a moment and then replied, "I think I have an idea."


*What is Temari's plan?