Reincarnated as Nobita Nobi

I sat by the campfire, listening to my friends argue. As expected, Suneo the coward started his speech: "I don't want to be here anymore. I've had enough of this adventure."

"If they want Piisuke, let's just give him to them! Then they can send us home," he whined.

Shizuka looked worried. "But isn't that too cruel to Piisuke? How can we do that?"

As they bickered back and forth, I knew I had to step in before morale completely fell apart. It was time for me to move the story forward.

"Alright, alright, listen to me for a second," I said.

Everyone turned to look at me expectantly.

"Tell me, do you really think those dinosaur hunters are good people?" I asked pointedly.

Of course not. Even Suneo shook his head, let alone the others.

"So we all agree they're not good guys," I continued. "Then why do you believe what they say? Do you honestly think they'll keep their word and take us home?"

"Think about it! These are ruthless poachers who break laws and morals to hunt dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period without a care. They don't give a damn that their actions could wipe out humanity. Can you really trust people like that?"

"They only want Piisuke because he's close to humans. They want his body and his heart to satisfy some rich collector's obsession and fetch a high price."

"But once they have Piisuke, do you think they'll still respect us like they do now? And if they let us go home, aren't they worried we'll expose them?"

"To them, this is just a game. They're not afraid of us escaping their grasp."

"We're like ants to their elephant. Would an elephant care about ants?"

"For all we know, they might just kill us to silence us after we hand over Piisuke."

"They're already criminals - what's a few more crimes to them?"

I laid it on thick, trying to scare some sense into them. Hearing my words, everyone's faces went pale as the implications sank in.

"What should we do then? We'll follow your lead," Gian spoke up.

Maybe my speech had moved him, or maybe he remembered how I'd saved his life during our adventure.

"We should stick to the original plan," I said. "Go back to Japan, to where my house will be in this era. Use the time machine there to return."

"It's the safest way."

I then outlined the plan using the remote control car toy from the masked man, combined with Doraemon's gadgets, to lure the hunters away. Everyone agreed, even Suneo who cried as Gian grabbed him by the neck to make him nod.

We settled in to rest and prepare for tomorrow's escape attempt. But as I lay there, my mind was racing. I knew we'd likely be caught eventually. This was just buying time, setting the stage for my real plan.

…

The next morning, we put our scheme into action. Using the remote car as a decoy, we managed to draw the masked man and his goons away. They gleefully chased after it, firing warning shots and playing their sick game of hunting humans.

Meanwhile, we headed in the opposite direction on foot. I knew we'd be caught sooner or later, but we had to go through the motions. Sure enough, we didn't get far before their flying machines spotted us.

Explosions rocked the ground around us as they fired, shattering rocks and splintering trees. But they were clearly toying with us, not trying to kill.

Shizuka fainted from fright. I quickly scooped her up in my arms and used Doraemon's Anywhere Door to teleport us to a distant cave. When I snuck back to check on the others, I saw they'd been captured but were unharmed. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Back in the cave, Shizuka woke up confused and frightened. But seeing me calmed her down.

"What's happening now?" she asked.

I explained about the others being captured, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry, we still have Piisuke so they won't hurt Doraemon and the rest. And I know where their base is - I'll sneak in tomorrow to rescue them."

Shizuka relaxed a bit at that. "What should we do now?"

I smiled and pulled out one of Doraemon's gadgets - the Apartment Pretend Tree. Planting it in the ground, I watched it expand into a cozy shelter.

"Let's rest here tonight. In the morning, we'll save the others," I said confidently.

As we entered the mini-house, I felt Shizuka's soft hand brush against mine. My heart raced at her closeness in the small space. But I pushed those thoughts aside. I had to focus on the rescue plan...and on keeping Shizuka safe, no matter what.