Temari maintained a defensive stance as she considered the best course of action. Right now her and Hinata's priority was rescuing Sakura, but she wasn't even sure how they could do it. She supposed they could either force Marunomi to spit her out or, if it came down to it, they could cut open Marunomi's stomach. But Marunomi was already proving herself to be a tough opponent. They would have to be cautious and analyze her to suss out a weakness.

"Hinata," Temari said. "I'll go on the offensive. You act as my support and try to identify any weaknesses in her defense."

"Got it," Hinata replied.

Idly stroking her Sakura-filled belly, Marunomi simply smirked, waiting for Temari and Hinata to make the first move.

Temari happily obliged her by brandishing her fan and swiping it at her, creating a tremendous gust of wind. Marunomi braced herself, guarding her face with her arms, and stood her ground. The gale slid her across the ground a bit, but she remained unharmed by the attack. However, Marunomi was so distracted by the attack that she didn't see Temari attacking her from the side. With kunai in hand, Temari plunged the weapon downwards, aiming directly for Marunomi's bulbous gut. In truth, Temari expecting her to dodge it, but, instead, Marunomi remained perfectly still. The kunai connect with Marunomi's flesh, but bounced right off of it.

Temari's hand flew back as the kunai ricocheted, but she quickly righted herself and leapt back to a safe distance. Marunomi, meanwhile, chuckled amusedly.

"I told you, didn't I?" she said. "I have the Elasticity jutsu. Any attack you throw at me bounces right off me."

Temari gritted her teeth and grumbled in frustration. Marunomi, meanwhile, smiled confidently and licked her lips.

"Well then, looks like it's my turn," she said.

Suddenly, Marunomi shot out her long tongue, aiming it straight towards Temari. Reacting just in time, Temari dodged the tongue, which hit the ground beneath her. Marunomi retracted her and fired it once more, but again Temari dodged. However, this time Marunomi jerked her head to the side, causing her tongue to sweep horizontally in a long arc. Temari leapt into the air, just narrowly dodging the tongue once again. Marunomi pulled her tongue back in and then rushed Temari just as she landed back on the ground. With no time to react, Temari took the full front of Marunomi's attack as she punched her in the abdomen. Temari was sent flying and landed helplessly on the ground. Wasting no time, Marunomi fired her tongue once more at the incapacitated Temari.

"Temari!" Hinata cried.