Ino's warning came too late. Temari turned her head just in time to see the beam come straight at her and coil around her. Temari tried to resist, but the beam, having the consistency of a rope, tightly bound her arms, making her struggles useless. Temari screamed as a strange energy began to emanate from the beam, permeating her whole body. Then, suddenly, she was yanked away the beam retracted and pulled her into the forest.

"TEMARI!" cried Sakura and Ino.

Unsure what to do, the two simply stared into the forest, readying themselves for another attack. Within the forest, they could hear a distinct slurping and smacking sound, as if someone were messily devouring a large meal. They then heard a loud gulp, followed by a throaty burp.

Disturbed by the noise, Sakura and Ino nevertheless remained still and kept their guard up. After a few seconds, a figure began to emerge from the forest. It was Marunomi.

"Well, hello girls," she said. "Nice to finally meet back up with you."

Sakura paid no heed to her words, as she was more preoccupied with the whereabouts of their comrade.

"You! Where's Temari?!" she cried. "What did you do to her?"

"Your friend?" Marunomi said and then chuckled. "Why, she's right here."

Marunomi looked downwards, and Sakura and Ino followed her gaze. They looked at Marunomi's stomach, which had bulged out quite noticeably.

"You...You didn't," said Sakura, horrified.

"Mmm, she was tasty," said Marunomi, caressing the curve of her middle with one hand. She then stifled a small burp with her other hand. "Don't worry, you'll be seeing her soon, but for now, I'm up for a good fight."

Sakura and Ino were quite distressed. They hadn't even begun to fight Marunomi and already they had lost their team leader. But it would do them no good to panic. They had to stay strong and alert for the upcoming battle. On that note, Sakura made the decision to assume to command in Temari's absence. It seemed she would get her chance to lead the squad after all.

As Sakura and Ino took a defensive stance, they also took notice of the Behemoth's Tongue on Marunomi's arm.

"Sakura, the Behemoth's Tongue," said Ino. "What should we do?"

Sakura was conflicted. Lady Sushi had asked them to save it if at all possible, but now, with their team leader devoured, would it be too much of a risk to try to procure it?


*What does Sakura decide?