Tenten and Sakura's held on tightly, hoping they could wait out the cyclone, but Marunomi's suction was steadily growing stronger with no signs of slowing down. Around them, leaves and flowers and twigs were uprooted, vanishing into Marunomi's throat. The trees in the area bent forward, nearly toppling over. Tenten and Sakura knew then that they wouldn't last much longer. They would have to stop Marunomi or be sucked into her gullet.

Tenten's mind raced as she tried to think of a way to stop the vortex, which proved difficult as she was partially focused on maintaining her grip; her muscles growing increasingly sore. She thought of every weapon she had in her arsenal, but nothing came to her.

Sakura, meanwhile, wasn't having much luck either. Despite her incredible strength, it was becoming increasingly harder to focus her chakra and her grip on the tree was beginning to sleep. And, unfortunately, she wasn't coming up with any ideas of how to stop Marunomi either.

Suddenly, one of the nearby trees toppled over and fell directly towards Sakura's tree. Sakura's eyes widened and her heart raced as she became aware that the tree would soon collide with hers, demolishing it, and leaving her with no anchor from the gust. Marunomi looked on at the scene gleefully, knowing the pink-haired girl would soon be hers. Sure enough, the toppling tree fell directly on Sakura, causing her to lose her grip. She flew into the air and was pulled into Marunomi's vacuum.

"Sakura!" Tenten cried.

The entire process was almost instantaneous. The force of Marunomi's suction was so strong that Sakura flew straight into her open mouth and quickly slid down her throat. There was no need for Marunomi to feed the girl into her; she simply went down her esophagus with one gulp. Just as quickly, Marunomi closed her moth and leaned her back, as if on reflex, to finish the swallow, and her belly ballooned out even more as the Leaf ninja joined her other devoured comrades. Her meal complete, Marunomi exhaled and moved her arms to the sides of her expanded belly as she began to stroke it.

"Ah, one more ninja girl down," Marunomi said contentedly. She chuckled and then let out a burp before patting her belly.

With Marunomi's suction storm gone, Tenten's feet returned to the ground, but she still maintained her grip on the tree. She stared at Marunomi in horror as she was faced with the reality that all her teammates had been eaten and she was the only one left.

Once Marunomi finished relishing her meal, she quickly turned her attention back to Tenten. She could sense her fear and it delighted her so very much.

"Well, well, only one more left, and I've still got room," said Marunomi. "Those little buns on your hair look like sweet rolls. I'm sure you'll make a delicious dessert." She began to approach Tenten, who still stood trembling and clinging to the tree.


*What happens next?