Author's Note:

Hey, people! Thanks for giving my little story a chance. This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so I hope it goes well. I've got the storyline planned out all the way to the end, all that's left is turning a sequence of events and notes like "Oro shows up & knocks them out & does creepy research on them" into an actual narrative.

You might notice that my OC's all have one of their names taken from the manga "Mahou Sensei Negima" by Ken Akamatsu. In the case where it is their first (given) name, their appearance also resembles that character, but at the age I specify. This isn't a crossover fic, I'm just lazy with naming. Ex. Takamichi Sarutobi looks like an 18-year old version of Takamichi Takahata, who is in his thirties. I hope you'll excuse my laziness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Mahou Sensei Negima, their universes, or their respective characters. Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, and Ken Akamatsu owns Negima. I barely even own my own soul (its rent-to-own).

Chapter One: The Waters Start to Churn

Ominous gray clouds rolled overhead, driven by the ever-present wind blowing in from the sea. Asakura Uzumaki sat behind her cluttered desk gazing out the large window. Asakura was a slender woman in her mid-thirties who's presence didn't so much dominate a room as subtly control it. She fashioned her medium-length red hair up in a way that somewhat resembled a pineapple's leaves, wearing business attire that complimented her figure while remaining appropriate for a person of her rank. Watching the storm clouds outside, she recalled afternoons and evenings long ago when she and her late husband would watch the storm clouds roll in. Negi Uzumaki shared with her, along with their emerald eyes, an almost perverse fascination with thunderstorms, and they would often camp on some deserted beach and watch the clouds. Remembering those days reminded her of how much she missed him, and how much she hated the bastards who killed him.

(Flashback)

The Whirlpool Council of Elders had summoned her abruptly the day Negi's body was returned to the village. Taking her four-year old daughter with her to the administration building, she entered the council's chamber alone when informed that she was to be told the circumstances of her husband's death.

"Please take a seat, Asakura-san," the head councilor said. "We've called you here to inform you that your husband, the Champion of Vortex, was indeed murdered by foreign shinobi."

Lowering her head and averting her gaze for a moment, she looked back with a steely expression that just managed to conceal her sorrow. "Do we have any clues as to who did this, or what their motives are?"

"We have reason to believe Konoha shinobi are responsible, judging by the design of the kunai and shuriken found at the scene. As for Konoha's motive, we have no leads. The council has decided that the best course of action, given the size and power of Konohagakure relative to our own, and the necessity of our alliance with them, is to take no retaliatory action, and keep secret our knowledge of their involvement."

Gritting her teeth, she concurred that this is the logical choice.

(End Flashback)

The council of the Whirlpool village held a great deal of power in policymaking and civilian affairs, granting the Champion authority over these matters only in times of severe crisis. The Champion of Vortex had nowhere near the authority over his or her village as a Kage had over theirs. The Champion was the top-ranking military and law enforcement official, but the council trumped his authority in any situation that afforded the time and opportunity for their deliberation.

She had been chosen by the village jounin to succeed Negi as Champion the next week, likely because of the deadly reputation she had earned before the birth of her daughter. Twelve years had passed since then, and she had always wanted to send a shinobi into Konoha undercover to further investigate Negi's death, but the council had always opposed her. Alienating potential allies was something the tiny coastal nation couldn't afford, especially since their next nearest neighbor, the Land of Water, had always harbored ambitions of adding Whirlpool's territory to its own in order to gain a foothold on the mainland. The Land of Fire, and Konohagakure in particular, had always been an ally and it was mostly this alliance that kept the Water country in check.

However, the council had authorized her request this time around, since the new Mizukage was on friendly terms with Whirlpool's Daimyo and their threat had diminished. They had signed off on a purely fact-finding mission to uncover more about the events twelve years previous. Asakura had the perfect candidate in mind for the mission: her now sixteen-year old daughter. She was an accomplished chunin who Asakura had personally trained in ninjutsu and espionage. Kushina Uzumaki was more than pleased to carry out the investigation, given her personal connection to the case.

At this moment, the somewhat impatient Vortex Champion was waiting on her rebellious daughter to show up for her final briefing before leaving on the mission.

'God, I hope she's late because she was preparing for the mission, and not playing in the rain like last time! How many times have I told her that deflecting raindrops using chakra does NOT count as suiton training!'

Just then, a suspiciously dry and umbrella-less read-head burst into the office, having obviously just ran the entire distance from home. Kushina shared her hair color and length with her mother, but wore it down, flaring at her shoulders with strands framing her face. She had an ample figure which she clothed more modestly than most kunoichi her age, but still with a healthy dose of seductive charm.

"Hey, Mom! Am I late?" Kushina asked with a nervous grin.

Asakura gives her a cold stare, then responds, "Significantly. You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"Oops?"

With a sigh, Asakura continued, "Your cover for this mission is as a civilian scholar in political science who is doing research at the Konoha hall of records and library. Records pertaining to shinobi activities should be located in a restricted area of one of those buildings, so you will have to find a way around the restrictions. Once you find something, send a coded message back via messenger falcon and await further orders."

"What should I do if I have an opportunity to kill the bastard or bastards who murdered Dad?" Kushina asked after a moment of thought.

After glancing at the door, Asakura responded in a hushed tone, "The council wouldn't stand for overt action, but if this person posed a threat to your life the council would have to forgive you if you 'accidentally' caused this person's death while defending yourself."

"Gotcha."

"If you don't have anymore questions, you're dismissed and may leave immediately for Konoha. Good luck, Kushina!" she said with a small but warm smile.

And with that, the two women parted, Asakura returning to her paperwork and Kushina heading back to finish packing for her "research trip."

(A/N)

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review to tell me how I'm doing. Does everything seem plausible? Do I fail at descriptions of the characters? Does this font make me look fat? Are you looking forward to some Minato X Kushina romance?

-NaGfH