As the only shinobi in the team capable of manipulating Doton in the terrain, albeit without proper inclination or training, it fell to me to prepare a shelter in the absence of natural cover nearby.
— How high is it?
— About two meters high and one and a half meters wide, no more, — clarified Hyuga.
— And the depth?
— One meter — it looks like a crack formed and a piece fell out, creating the gap.
— Alright, I can expand it into a small cave, but I wouldn't expect more than that, — I shrugged.
— Any kind of shelter will do to avoid sleeping in a puddle, hide from the rain, and dry off a bit, — grumbled Inuzuka.
The location Hizashi found was not far away, just three hundred meters from the ledge where we had stopped, so within a minute, I squatted down and, placing my palms on the wet rock at the top of the crack, evenly infused it with my chakra, which transformed into Doton on the surface.
Slowly and carefully, I expanded the crack in both depth and width, moving excess stone up and down, sealing cracks, and creating a reasonably normal cubic cave of three by four meters with relatively smooth floors and walls. It took about twenty minutes to create a decent sleeping area.
Of course, it wasn't like creating giant holes in the ground or erecting mountains designed to crush the enemy, like skilled Doton users can, but it was still pretty good.
— Here you go, — I said as I got up from my knees, wiping my wet hands on my cloak, but to no avail.
Giving up on the futile effort, I followed the others into the cave, rummaged through my pockets, and slapped three seals on the walls—two on either side of the entrance and one on the side wall. I then nearly completely closed the opening with an earthen barrier, leaving only a narrow gap for air. A portable chakra lamp on paper would prevent us from being left in the dark, and the barriers would prevent sensitive sensors from detecting us due to chakra usage, as soon as the rain stopped.
While I was finishing up the shelter, my teammates were already stripping off their soaking wet clothes, ignoring modesty, and changing into clean, dry clothes taken from the travel scrolls along with the futons. With a grunt, I focused on the water in the clothes, infusing it with chakra, then simply gathered it into a small ball with my fist and poured it out. The advantage of Suiton affinity in full display. Throwing my cloak in a corner, I too got out and spread my bedding, then started on dinner. Unfortunately, it was still the same dry rations.
— What's our plan? The terrain here is quite flat, and the chances of getting through unnoticed during the day are lower than I'd like, — I asked Hyuga.
— We rest until about three or four in the morning, and if there's no more rain, we head out, — replied the jounin. — There's only a few hours of running left to the courier's route, so we should make it by dawn and set up a proper hideout.
Nodding, I finished the last of my ration and drank from my flask.
— Ishi, you're on first watch, Nara second, — the commander began to list, but I interrupted him.
— I'll leave a clone on watch, as it's better for everyone to get a good rest and be prepared for anything tomorrow.
After a moment's hesitation, Hizashi nodded. Fine then. Barely touching my head to the pillow, I fell into a deep sleep… only to be jolted awake by a poke from a Kage Bunshin. It dispersed, and I received memories of the watch in the dark. But that wasn't the point!
— Everyone, wake up, it looks like our shelter has been spotted!
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