"Senior Shino, are there any spare tents? If not, we can just sleep outside. We're all ninjas-we don't need to be fussy about such things," Rin said earnestly.
Rin's father had taught her from a young age not to burden others.
When she noticed Shibi's hesitation, she immediately offered this considerate suggestion.
Meanwhile, Obito and Kakashi were scanning the area for empty tents.
Given the choice, they'd much rather sleep inside than out.
"Meow~"
Raj suddenly let out a cry toward one of the tents.
It was Shibi Aburame's tent.
No one was inside at the moment.
His tentmates were out on patrol, and since he was guiding Kakashi and the others, the tent was completely empty.
"Senior, this one seems empty!" Obito shouted excitedly.
"Hmm... they must be out on a mission. Will they be back tonight?"
Kakashi had participated in wars since he was very young, so he understood these situations well.
"Well, ha ha ha, this is my tent. Oh, the tent next door is empty too. Why don't you go over there...?"
"No need, meow."
Raj finished speaking and quickly darted into the tent.
The space inside was surprisingly large, with six sleeping bags lined up against the wall.
Judging by the scent, only four had been used; the other two were brand new and unused.
"Two here. We need one more," Kakashi muttered, glancing at Obito.
Obito paused, looked at Rin, then at Raj, before turning to Shibi Aburame and asking, "Senior Shino, there are only two sleeping bags here. Can I go get a new one from the next tent?"
"Go ahead," Shibi Aburame said with a sigh, waving his hand wearily.
He didn't know what else to say.
'If I'd known it would come to this, I should have led them to the neighboring tent earlier.'
'At least we wouldn't be sharing a space.'
'Now I'm stuck in a tent with this cat, and I can feel all my insects getting agitated.'
'This is too much!'
And so, Minato's Team settled in with Shibi Aburame.
Shibi Aburame had expected the cat to be restless, but to his surprise, Raj remained quietly curled up in a corner, its only movement the occasional upward or downward glance.
Thanks to this, he and Kakashi were able to fall asleep quickly.
When camping, everyone usually used sleeping bags for convenience and easy packing.
But a cat didn't really need a sleeping bag.
It had its own cozy nest on top of the Medical Kit, which Rin had modified for it.
In the middle of the night, Raj opened his eyes and cautiously approached Shibi Aburame's sleeping bag.
Over the course of the evening, Shibi had contributed over seven hundred Points to him - far more than expected.
But since falling asleep, Raj had noticed something strange.
'Why are my Points still increasing even though he's asleep? Normally, no one would continuously think about a cat, especially not while asleep. Points wouldn't accumulate unless someone dreamed about him. Could he really be dreaming about me?'
Driven by curiosity and a thirst for the unknown, Raj slowly padded toward Shibi's sleeping bag.
As he drew closer, he sensed something was off.
'Why are my Points still rising?'
Raj couldn't understand.
Despite his close proximity, Shibi showed no reaction, clearly asleep.
Yet the Points kept ticking up, ten or twenty at a time...
He couldn't resist tapping the sleeping bag with his paw.
In the next instant, the sleeping bag deflated as if it had been punctured, shrinking to a fraction of its original size.
A swarm of insects burst forth, flying out the tent flap.
Raj chased after them, following the swarm.
To a nearby tree.
A ninja leaned against a branch, appearing to be asleep.
But Raj suspected he was merely feigning slumber.
'No wonder they kept contributing Points. Is it really that bad? Black Cat didn't think it was evil enough to make people flee in terror. Sure, it occasionally got a bit "lively" for Points, but it wasn't that bad, was it?'
"What's going on?"
Kakashi sat up from his sleeping bag, kunai in hand.
A second later, Obito and Rin also sat up.
Raj stood outside the tent, looking at the three inside, then at Shibi Aburame, who had been "exposed" and was now awkwardly perched on the tree branch.
It suddenly felt a twinge of guilt.
'I think... I woke them all up.'
'No, wait! It hadn't made a sound. It was Shibi's Insect Clone that had disturbed them. The Chakra disturbance from the Clone was far louder than its own nearly silent footsteps.'
"Meow~ Not my fault."
"Fault?"
Everyone paused for a moment, but Rin was the quickest to catch on.
"If it's not your fault, then what about Senior Shibi?" she asked, puzzled.
"I'm sorry, I... I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk outside. I didn't mean to wake you all. Just go back to sleep, don't worry about me," Shibi Aburame said, knowing he couldn't play dead any longer and having to come down and explain.
Just then, a surge of Chakra rippled through the air, followed by the appearance of an Anbu ninja.
His voice, low and urgent, cut through the night: "Sunagakure Ninja activity detected. Reconnaissance teams, suspend rest.
Full-scale search and tracking operations commence immediately."
"Understood!"
In the next instant, every ninja resting in the tents emerged.
The majority were from the Aburame and Inuzuka clans, with a smaller contingent from the Hyuga clan.
They moved with practiced efficiency, rising and vanishing in the blink of an eye.
"Kakashi, Obito, Raj - coordinate your reconnaissance. Rin, you're the medical ninja; handle things as you see fit. Now... move out!" Shibi Aburame's expression turned serious.
The sudden mobilization of daytime ninjas meant Sunagakure forces were already nearby, likely including Sunagakure's Anbu ninjas, skilled in stealth and trap deployment.
"Understood!"
"Meow~ Did anyone ask for the cat's opinion?"
Raj grumbled as he watched Kakashi and Obito quickly rise to leave, while Shibi Aburame packed his things to depart immediately.
"Stop complaining and let's go," Obito said, scooping Raj up and settling him on his shoulder with practiced ease.
He was already used to this routine.
Raj rested his paws on Obito's shoulder, gazing into the distance like a self-aware mount.
He didn't particularly mind joining the mission.
"I'll head to the Medical Corps," Rin said. "It's a better fit for me."