Only two pillars remained; one each for Sakura and Hinata. They both knew that, with each passing second, more and more people were falling to Marunomi’s jutsu. They rushed as fast as they could.
Finally, they were upon them, both reaching their pillars at approximately the same time. Sakura reeled her hand back, ready to deliver one last punch, while Hinata activated her Twin Lion Fist technique. They both struck the pillars, demolishing them. With all the pillars gone, the giant dome flashed several times, and then, sure enough, began to dissipate. Soon, the entire dome was gone filling Sakura and Hinata with immense relief. They both headed for the village square to check on the villagers.
---
Lady Sushi stared up at the sky where, just moments ago, the huge dome had encapsulated her village. While many of the villagers cheered, she herself was unsure what to think. Did this mean that the ninjas had been defeated Marunomi?
“Lady Sushi!” cried a voice from a fair distance.
She looked to the source of the voice and saw that it was Sakura, who rushed to her side.
“Are you alright?” Sakura asked.
“I’m fine,” Lady Sushi responded.
“Lady Sushi! Sakura!” cried another voice.
Lady Sushi and Sakura looked up to see that it was Hinata. In a matter of moments, she joined them.
“You two…destroyed the barrier, then?” Lady Sushi asked.
Sakura and Hinata nodded.
“So…then you’ve defeated Marunomi?” she asked hopefully.
Sakura and Hinata paused for a moment, doubtfully. “We’re not sure,” Sakura said. “Temari and the others went off to fight Marunomi while Hinata and I destroyed pillars.”
“WHAT?!” Lady Sushi cried. “No, no…”
“Lady Sushi?” Sakura said uncertainly.
“Why did you stay behind? You all should have gone off to fight her!” yelled Lady Sushi.
“Lady Sushi, please,” Sakura said. “We couldn’t leave you all to die like that.”
“And I’m sorry,” Hinata said. “I know we couldn’t save all of you. I saw that many of the villagers were already turned into chakra.”
“No, you don’t understand!” Lady Sushi cried. “The effects of the jutsu are temporary!”
“What?” Sakura said.
“Everyone who’s been turned into chakra will be back to normal in less than an hour!” Lady Sushi explained. “You all should have combined your strength to defeat Marunomi! Then you could have freed us afterwards!”
Suddenly, a horrible realization entered Sakura’s mind. “Is this…is this what she wanted?” Sakura asked.
“Sakura?” Hinata said.
“She just wanted to split us up,” Sakura said. “She wanted to weaken us by dividing us up. And we fell right for it.” She slammed her fist on the ground in frustration.
Having calmed down a bit, Lady Sushi replied, “No, it’s my fault,” she said. “I should have told you everything I could about the jutsu.”
Lady Sushi’s words did little to alleviate Sakura’s anger. The fact still remained that they had been tricked; that they had failed. And now who knew what Marunomi was doing and-
“Sakura.”
The voice snapped Sakura out her anger. She raised her head and saw that it was Hinata.
“If that’s the case, then we need to get back to Temari and the others,” Hinata said. “They may still need our help.”
Hinata was right, and Sakura knew it. She calmed herself down and rose to her feet, as did Hinata.
“Right. Let’s go,” Sakura said
“Leaf ninjas,” Lady Sushi said.
Sakura and Hinata turned to her attentively.
“You must destroy the Behemoth’s Tongue,” she said.
“Destroy it?” Hinata said, surprised. “But Lady Sushi, you said-”
“I know,” she replied. “But I know now that that…monstrosity cannot be allowed to exist anymore. So please, I beg you…destroy it.”
Though a bit apprehensive at the idea of destroying an artifact, Sakura and Hinata were not ones to refuse a request from their employer. Especially if it made their jobs easier. The two turned to each other, and nodded.
“We understand,” Sakura said. “We’ll be back.”
And with that, both of them were off.
“I hope you will,” Lady Sushi muttered.
---
The two made their way through the village towards the direction where Temari, Ino, and Tenten had chased Marunomi into the forest.
“Hinata, can you find Temari and the others?” Sakura asked.
Hinata activated her byakugan and began search. After a few moments she found something.
“I can’t see clearly,” Hinata said. “But I’m pretty sure I found them. They’re about three kilometers away from here. But…there’s only two of them.”
“Dammit,” Sakura muttered.
The two ran and leapt as fast as they could, dreading what could have happened while they were gone, and what was waiting for them when they got there.
---
Temari was starting to run out of chakra. Even while trying to conserve it, she found she had to use up a good amount of chakra just to fend off Marunomi’s attacks. Even worse, she had no idea when or even if Sakura and Hinata would come, but she had hold out hope that they would arrive soon. And then, of course, there was the matter of the Behemoth’s Tongue. She wasn’t sure of the exact timing, but it had been at least a few minutes since Marunomi had last used, so it would probably reactivate soon.
Temari blocked another of Marunomi’s punches with her fan. Then she blocked a second and a third, but the next one she wasn’t able to block. She was knocked back, but managed to catch herself and saw Marunomi charging at her. Temari had no choice but to unleash another gust. She waved the fan and blew Marunomi back several feet. Marunomi landed easily on her feet and stopped for a moment, looking strangely disappointed.
“Oh come on, this is just boring,” Marunomi said. “What’s the point in prolonging this if you’re not even going to put up a good fight?”
Temari leaned on her fan, slightly out of breath. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold out. Suddenly, she saw the Behemoth’s Tongue begin to glow.
Marunomi noticed it as well. She looked down as the device hummed to life. A sinister smile crept across her face.
“Well then,” she said. She glanced over at Temari with a sinister glare. “Perhaps it’s time we end this then. Shall we?”
This was it. Temari had to think fast. She knew Marunomi wouldn’t waste a use of the Behemoth’s Tongue and Temari wasn’t sure if she could dodge such an unpredictable attack in the state she was in.
It was then that Temari knew she would have to make a vital decision.
