Panicking, Marunomi attempting to break free, but it was no use. Sakura’s fist connected and it smashed the Behemoth’s Tongue to pieces.
In the chaos, Sakura, Hinata, and Marunomi all fell to the ground. Hinata had taken some of the blunt from Sakura’s attack, but was mostly unscathed. Sakura and Hinata both rose to their feet and retreated back to Temari’s side.
In the time that Sakura and Hinata had taken to destroy the Tongue, Temari had recovered a bit and had risen back to her feet.
“Heh…good job you two,” she said. Sakura and Hinata smiled and nodded, appreciating the praise. “Now we need to find a way to beat her and release Tenten and Ino.”
Meanwhile, Marunomi herself had just gotten back on her feet. She looked over at the destroyed remains of the Behemoth’s Tongue and then walked towards it. She stopped and knelt down to pick up some of the scraps.
“So…,” she said. “…Lady Sushi gave you the go ahead to destroy it, huh?” She clutched the broken pieces in her hand. “That short-sighted fool.”
Marunomi turned toward the three ninjas and stared at them with a stern, but emotionally vague look. They stared back at her.
Marunomi sighed. “Well, I guess you win, then,” she said.
Sakura, Hinata, and Temari were surprised and not entirely sure what to make of her statement. Did this mean she was giving up?
Suddenly, Marunomi furrowed her brow and a devilish smile crossed her lips.
“I’ll just have to eat you whole,” she said.
The three ninjas simply stood and stared, perplexed by what they had just heard, but also filled with an unmistakable feeling of dread.
“Wh…what?” Hinata said.
Without warning, Marunomi’s cheeks puffed out and a long slimy appendage shot out from her mouth. In practically an instant, the appendage had cleared the distance between her and the girls and wrapped around...
