Temari said briskly, "I specialize in Wind Release Ninjutsu. I can provide long-range support in battle."
Arashi followed. "I have this puppet prosthesis, so I can handle short- and mid-range attacks."
Yashamaru smiled. "I'm a medical-nin and a puppeteer."
Maki jumped forward with a grin and said cheerfully, "I'm Maki. You can also call me Maki. I specialize in Sealing Jutsu, though unfortunately, I never learned my teacher's Scorch Release."
She gave a playful wink, drawing a round of chuckles from the group.
"Good. Everyone's specialties are clear."
Hoshino nodded, sweeping his gaze over the group.
"Temari will provide long-range support, Arashi will handle short- and mid-range attacks, Senior Yashamaru will provide medical and puppet support, and Maki will handle Sealing Jutsu and control. As for me..."
He paused, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "I can do it all, except for Genjutsu."
Temari raised an eyebrow and teased him. "Really, Captain? Don't drag us down when the time comes."
Next, everyone chose a code name to use in their upcoming operations.
After the laughter and horseplay, Hoshino took a scroll from inside his clothes.
"This is Anbu Team Eleven's first mission since its formation."
He unrolled the scroll and spread it across the table.
The scroll showed the terrain on the outskirts of the village in detail, along with several marked locations.
"According to our intelligence,"
Hoshino said, pointing to several red dots on the map.
"Unidentified people have been appearing frequently in this area on the village outskirts recently. A few days ago, they even attacked one of the village's puppet factories."
"Lord Kazekage suspects that someone in the village is colluding with ninja from another village to achieve some ulterior purpose."
"Our mission is to determine their identities and intentions, and take action if necessary."
Hoshino continued, "Maki, go with Arashi to the puppet factory that was attacked and get a general idea of what happened."
Maki and Arashi said, "Understood!"
"Senior Yashamaru, go with Temari to the patrol teams on the outskirts of the village. Check whether there have been any recent records of suspicious people coming or going."
Yashamaru and Temari said, "All right!"
Hoshino nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Remember, efficiency is the key to this mission. Be careful and cautious, and stay in contact at all times."
Everyone answered in unison, "Understood!"
Hoshino clapped his hands. "All right, the assignments are made. Go on, everyone, and stay safe."
After seeing his team members off,
Hoshino set out as well, heading toward the area where they were operating so he could provide timely support if anything happened.
Before long, Maki and Arashi arrived at the attacked puppet factory.
The factory stood beside a stretch of dunes on the outskirts of the village. High walls surrounded it, and several guards stood at the entrance.
"This is the factory that was attacked?" Maki looked up at the factory gate.
Arashi nodded. "That's right. This is the production base for Spirit Puppets. Kankuro is in charge."
The two entered the factory and were met by a scene of bustling activity.
Workers hurried back and forth, some carrying puppet parts and others debugging puppets. The place was very noisy.
In an office, the two found Kankuro examining production records.
Kankuro was briefly taken aback when he saw Arashi and Maki, but he soon put down the record book in his hands and came over to greet them.
Arashi briefly explained why they had come.
Kankuro said, "More than ten wandering ninja came that night, and none of them were weak. Their objective was clear..."
Maki listened carefully while Arashi took out paper and a pen and began recording what he said.
Half an hour later.
"Are you sure those wandering ninja appeared from the west side of the factory?"
Arashi showed Kankuro the notes for him to review. After confirming that everything was correct, he asked again for emphasis.
"I'm sure!" Kankuro said seriously. "Afterward, I studied the patrol squad's route. It could only have been there."
"Understood!" Arashi put away the paper and pen, then turned to Maki. "Come on, let's take a look at the barrier on the west side."
"Okay!" Maki nodded and followed Arashi out of the factory.
Before long, the two arrived at the barrier on the west side.
Yellow sand filled the air, and the wind made it hard to keep their eyes open.
As everyone knew, the so-called barrier was actually a large-scale sensory barrier.
Without a specific hand seal serving as authorization to pass,
anyone who tried to cross the barrier would instantly trigger its warning mechanism.
Once triggered, a warning signal would travel out at tremendous speed, notifying the ninja squads responsible for patrolling nearby.
Maki examined it carefully and found no sign that anyone had triggered the barrier.
That left only three possibilities.
First, the intruders had not entered from here. Second, someone had turned off the barrier and let them in. Third, a Sealing Jutsu expert had been helping them.
According to Kankuro, the wandering ninja had appeared suddenly, without drawing the patrol squad's attention.
That made the first possibility unlikely.
As for a Sealing Jutsu expert, that was unlikely too.
Sunagakure's Sealing Jutsu could not compare to Konoha's, but that did not mean just anyone could bypass it.
That left only the second possibility.
Someone had turned off the barrier at that time and deliberately let the wandering ninja into the village to attack the factory.
"Let's go back, put the clues in order, and report to the captain," Maki said, standing up.
"Wait!"
Arashi crouched down and brushed aside some gravel, revealing several dead insects.
He picked them up and held them before his eyes for a closer look, but found that he had never seen that species before.
"Maki, do you know what kind of insects these are?" Arashi asked, looking at Maki.
Maki leaned closer and carefully examined the insects in Arashi's hand.
She turned them over and looked at them several times. Certain she had never seen this kind of insect before, she said with confidence,
"They're not a species from the Land of Wind. Most insects in the Land of Wind are adapted to the desert, with hard shells and colors close to the yellow sand, but these insects are completely different."
"A foreign species! That's a clue. They might be connected to those wandering ninja."
Arashi carefully placed the insects in a special specimen bag, then left the western barrier with Maki.
By the time they returned to Anbu Team Eleven's office, Yashamaru and Temari had just come back as well.
Besides Hoshino,
there was also a woman in the room wearing a half-mask that completely covered the left side of her face.
"This is Hizuki, the last member of Team Eleven!"
After a brief introduction, Hoshino asked the four before him, "Did you find anything?"
Arashi took out the notebook and specimen bag he had tucked inside his clothes and handed them over.
"Captain, there weren't many suspicious things. These insects count as one. We don't know what country they're from, but they're definitely not from the Land of Wind."
Temari then handed him a record book and pointed to one of the entries.
"Seven days ago, a caravan from the Land of Lightning applied to enter the village, but they didn't stay long. After briefly replenishing their supplies, they went straight into the depths of the desert."
Yashamaru added, "Their stated reason was to gather a certain medicinal herb in the desert!"