Hello!

So this chapter will be a continuation and bit of backstory about the situation in Konoha (I was too lazy to write the whole scene). The timeline might also be different from the oriinal so watchout for that. Disclaimer in first chapter!

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Kurama/spirits/beasts talking"

"I have some important information!" Naruto's voice echoed through the almost empty Jade chamber, drawing the attention of the Qixing and their ex-patron. Keqing shared a glance with the others and went up to the open door. The second it opened, they heard Keqing yelp and, in the next second, a blond blur jumped into the gathering place at the bottom of the chamber with Keqing in his hands and landed in a crouch.

Keqing quickly slipped from his grasp and turned to face a tired and panting Naruto with a light red blush on her face. "N-Naruto! What's this all about?"

Naruto put one finger up and took deep breaths to calm down. After some more deep breaths he calmed down a bit. "The Fatui *pant* are planning to *pant* free the *pant* Overlord *pant* of *pant* the Vortex."

The Qixing's eyes widened. The Fatui were planning on resurrecting one of the most dangerous enemies during the Archon war. Zhongli's eyes narrowed. 'I wanted them to test the people of Liyue, but this is too much. They will to answer for this.'

Keqing looked at the blond, who was still panting, with a questioning look. "Are you sure about this Naruto? The accusation you're making is by no means a light one."

After some more breaths, Naruto had finally calmed down. "Yes I am. I snooped around their bank, and found them hoarding Sigils of Permission and managed to hear Childe talking about it." Hearing a thoughtful hum next to him, Naruto turned to face the brown-haired man standing next to him. Seeing that he forgot to introduce himself, Naruto walked up to him with a smile and extended his hand. "Hello there! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! What about you?"

The man smiled warmly and reciprocated the friendly gesture. "It is nice to meet you. My name is Zhongli and I am a consultant for Wangsheng funeral parlor. The Qixing have asked me to organize the Rite of Parting with all the grandeur of the days past."

Naruto looked confused. "Huh? Rite of Parting? Is that like a funeral for Archons?" Despite the words, Naruto felt a sense of dread emanting from their clasped hands and settling in the bottom of his stomach. 'This man is the Geo Archon!'

Zhongli smiled and let go of his hand. "Indeed. It is as you have guessed. The Rite of Parting is a rite done to honor the passing of Adepti and thank them for protecting Liyue till their last breath. For Rex Lapis, the Rite of Parting will be grand and worthy of the years he spent, keeping a watchful eye on the City of Contracts."

Naruto blinked. Once. Twice. "Wow. You would've been a great replacement if that storyteller near Third-Round Knockout ever decides to quit." He chuckled at his own joke but the others didn't quite agree.

On the contrary, the Qixing (especially Ganyu) looked mortified. The ever-oblivious Naruto, didn't take notice. Noticing their expressions, Zhongli chuckled. "In that case, I will keep an eye for that job if it ever got vacant." The women's expressions lightened up at the ex-Archon's reaction.

Naruto gave a wide smile. "You seem like a good person. I'd love to talk more, but I have to meet up with a friend. Oh yeah, you better have cleared Lumine's name Lady Ningguang!" With that, he made his way out of the Jade chamber, unaware of the Yuheng following him with some parting words. One he was outside the door, Naruto cracked his neck and ran off, leaving the Yuheng behind, and jumped off the floating palace with a wide grin. Keqing followed him but all she saw was the falling figure of Naruto poofing out of existence.

Naruto had just finished helping out the chef at Wangshu Inn by scaring away a ghost when the memories from his shadow clone hit him. He had managed to convince Xiao to talk to Lumine and right now, he was helping the chef make a bowl of Almond Tofu for the Vigilant Yaksha to enjoy. When they were done, Naruto thanked the chef and took the bowl before making his way upstairs. He was about to make his way up the stairs but the sight a familiar duo distracted him. "Lumine! Paimon! Over here!" Hearing his voice, the two turned around and walked up to the waving blond with a smile. "Took you a while. How'd it go?"

Lumine frowned. "It went… ok. Cloud Retainer wasn't too happy but Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper seemed to be on our side. But I still don't get why Childe sent me to find the Adepti to clear my name."

Naruto sighed. "I don't know why he did that either, but I have good news! By now, your name should be cleared and you should be good to go back to Liyue and not get arrested on the spot!"

The girls' eyes widened. "Waitwaitwait! What do you mean her name was cleared? We didn't even go back to Liyue yet! And we still have to talk to the Conqueror of Demons! And Paimon hasn't had her Almond Tofu yet!"

Naruto gave the fairy a deadpan stare. "Paimon. This Almond Tofu isn't for you. It's for Xiao, aka the Conqueror of Demons. As for her name being cleared, remember that person I mentioned? I asked for some help from her because she owed me a favor." That was somewhat of a lie. She owed him way more than one favor, but he'd rather let her keep her dignity, lest he lose said favors. "Anyway, we still need to meet Xiao. He can still help you a lot." Lumine nodded and they walked to the lookout and were, once again, mesmerized by the beauty of the landscape. While Lumine and Paimon were admiring the view without a ticking timer behind them, Naruto walked up to the green haired boy that appeared next to them and held out a fist. Xiao hesitated for a moment before reluctantly bumping it with his own fist. Naruto smiled and turned to Lumine. "Hey Lumine. I found Xiao." Lumine and Paimon turned their heads so fast that Naruto could've sworn he heard something crack. "I'll let you chat with him. If you need me, I'll be downstairs." With that, Naruto gave them a wave and ran downstairs. Once he was down, he stopped to collect his breath and leaned on one of the walls before closing his eyes.

"So let me get this straight. Your shadow clone met the Geo archon at the Jade chamber?" Aether asked carefully. "And he's a consultant to a funeral parlor?"

"Yes and yes." The answer was swift. The two were in Naruto's bedroom in his mindscape and were talking about what the blond had discovered. "The look on Ganyu's face when I told him that he could find a job a Third-Round Knockout if the storyteller ever retired was the final nail in the coffin, no pun intended." Naruto stopped and looked at Aether's thoughtful expression. "Anyway, I have to go back before Lumine and Xiao finish their talk and Lumine decides to find me. I also used the information you recovered to clear her name."

With that, Naruto disappeared from his mindscape and Aether's surroundings shattered to reveal him in his bedroom. 'What are you planning Morax?'

Naruto snapped open his eyes and felt a small weight on his shoulders. Looking there, he smiled when he saw a small blue and white striped slug on his shoulder with an envelope heavy with letters. He took the letters and thanked the slug before going through them. This time, there was a letter from Gaara enclosed with the pictures and letters from his friends. The real treat however, was a picture of everyone at a gathering with a large red "We miss you!" written on the back with some small writing spelling out 'Sakura's idea' in Sasuke's writing. It was also signed by everyone. There was also a note from the Mist, but he ignored it. 'Maybe I should send them some pictures myself.' Maybe he could finally use that 'Kamera' he bought from Liyue that was currently collecting dust in his storage. After some more thought, Naruto decided that he would send them some pictures whenever he could.

With that thought in mind, he made his way to the look out and gave Xiao and Lumine a nod and walked up to the balcony. He focused on his Vision and the pocket dimension it connected to and brought out his Kamera. The pocket dimension really only held three major things, his Kamera, the polearm he used before using the Kubikiribocho and his rucksack. 'I should really return that sword. It is their property after all, and they'll need it when they reform the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist. I'll keep it until then.' Yeah, he loved that sword too much to give it away. Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts and used the Kamera to take some pictures. Once he was satisfied, he turned it around and took a picture with him in it before looking at the results. Once he was done, he walked back down to the lobby with a satisfied smile, and borrowed some paper and a pen from Verr Goldet and started to write a letter back to his friends. In it, he said a quick hello and how he was going to be travelling and sending some more pictures later on. Once he was done, he enclosed the pictures and the letter in the same envelope, thanked Verr Goldet and walked outside before taking off his left glove and using a Kunai to cut his thumb. He momentarily activated his Rinnegan and made the signs for the Summoning jutsu, which made a small toad appear before putting his glove back on. He gave it the letters and a small piece of candy and watched it poof into smoke before deactivating his Rinnegan. Sensing Lumine and Paimon approaching, he smiled and turned around to face them. "So, how'd your talk with Xiao go?"

Lumine gave a smile of her own. "It went well. We should go back to Liyue. I want to get this deal with that Harbinger over with." Naruto nodded and they started to make their way back towards Liyue. On the way, she told him about her experience meeting with the Adepti and the trio laughed at Paimon's attempts to mimic the Illuminated Beasts.

An hour later, the group reached Liyue, but by then, it was almost night time so the group decided to find somewhere to crash for the night. While they were discussing places, Naruto perked up. "Oh yeah! I booked a place earlier today. I hope one room is enough?"

Before Lumine could say something, Paimon flew up to his face with her hands on her hips. "Hey! Don't you know it's wrong for a guy and a girl to sleep in the same room? What do you have to say for yourself Whiskers?"

Naruto blinked and looked like he had been hit with lightning before frantically waving his hands in the air. "Sorry sorry. I meant if one room would be enough for both of you. I have my own room and I doubt Paimon would want to sleep all by herself at night. Sorry it came out wrong."

Lumine gave him a grateful smile. "It's alright Naruto. Thanks for going through the trouble, and to answer your question, me and Paimon have no problem sharing a room." The small fairy floated around and nodded her head, which made Naruto smile.

"Alright then! Let's go to our inn." Lumine and Paimon followed Naruto to the inn where the latter had rented out two rooms and bid each other good night before retreating to their rooms.

In the dead of night, no one noticed that Naruto was no longer in his room.

*The next day*

It was early in the morning when Lumine and Paimon went to Northland bank to meet up with Childe and announce the end of their quest. Naruto had said that he wanted to meet with the Qixing and that he would meet them as soon as he was done. When they reached the bank, they saw the one they wanted to meet standing outside. When he saw them coming, he smiled and waved. "Traveler! Paimon! I hope your quest went smoothly. Did you gain the favor of the Adepti?" Lumine nodded. "Ah! That's good to hear! Your name will be cleared in no time! As a reward, let me treat you to a meal at Xinyue Kiosk. It's invite only and a very fancy place, so be happy. I'll be waiting." With that, Childe left them alone and went towards the shop. Lumine decided to go up to Yujing Terrace to see if she could meet up with Naruto before accepting Childe's invitatio. She would have gone along, but she'd rather not go there without a friend. If she had a choice, she wouldn't go there at all, but right now, Childe was her best shot at some information on her brother.

With that in mind, Lumine started making her way up to Yujing Terrace, but before she was halfway there, she met Naruto who was also trying to find her. After she gave him a rundown of the situation, the two made their way to Xinyue Kiosk and went inside with Childe's invitation. The two went to the table and sat down with Childe and a familiar man Naruto had met yesterday on the Jade Chamber. Once they were all seated, Paimon flew up to introduce Naruto to the others. Neither she, nor Lumine noticed the fear hidden behind the Harbinger's eyes.

*Smol timskip*

Lumine and Paimon walked out of Xinyue Kiosk with Zhongli. Turns out, as a consultant to Wangsheng funeral parlor and a guy who knew just about everything from the past, Zhongli had been asked to take care of preparing the Rite of Parting and ensuring that it is as close to the ones in the past as possible and they had gotten some Mora from Childe to spend for the preparations of the rite. They waited outside for Naruto because he had to "answer nature's call" as he put it. Childe had translated it for them as he had to pee. So now, they were waiting for him to come out and join them.

Meanwhile, back inside, Naruto and Childe were sitting at the table like old friends. Anyone walking next to them would have certainly thought so, but if they got close, they'd quite literally feel the tension in the air caused by the powers at play. For Childe, it was like the weight of a mountain was forcing him down onto his chair. For Naruto, it was like the weight of a feather was trying and failing to keep him down. Childe was gritting his teeth. Naruto was smiling like a fox. "Listen carefully Ajax. I know you really want to fight The Sage, so, how about we make a Contract on it? If I win, you have to give him something in the possession of the Fatui. If you win… *chuckle* If you win, what would you like?"

To his credit, Childe quickly got back his courage and a wide grin spread across his face. "If I win, I want you to fight me when ever and wherever I ask."

Naruto smirked and looked Childe in the eye. "You have a deal, Ajax. A deal as solid as stone. Better not forget it." Childe materialized his blades was about to jump him, but Naruto put up a finger, telling him to stop. "Patience Ajax, patience. The time for a battle will come. Until then, have patience." With those words, Naruto disappeared, making Childe curse and dismiss his blades. Unknown to him, he had just made a terrible deal, one that would be his own undoing.

Naruto walked out the building and met up with Lumine and Zhongli with a smile. "So, what are we up to?" Lumine gave him a quick rundown of the situation and told him that they were going to head out to buy some Noctilucous Jade for the rite. Naruto nodded and offered to take them to a shop that sold high quality jade.

When asked how he knew of this, he explained that his friend had told him of some good places. "Huh, come to think of it, you have been referring to your 'friend' in Liyue for a while now, but you've never told us who they are. Paimon wonders who they could be."

Naruto chuckled. "Just wait Paimon. You'll meet her sometime. She's a very busy woman, who I'd rather not burden with taking care of a greedy, yapping fly who can somehow eat twice as much as her own weight."

Paimon nodded. "Hmm. Sounds like a good reason but Paimon doesn't see why that would be a problem. We don't have a greedy yapping fly… HEY! You take that back this instant Whiskers!"

Naruto and Lumine burst out laughing as the fairy finally realized what was happening. "Haha. Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist." After some more laughing and apologizing, Naruto led them to a shop in an area closer to the docks, called the Jade Mystery.

Upon seeing them stop at the shop, the man standing there smiled and welcomed them in. "Welcome to the Jade Mystery my friends! My name is Shitou and I am the owner of this humble establishment. Would you like to try your luck betting on Jade? This could be your lucky day."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks for the offer, but we are here to buy some Noctilucous Jade. A good friend of mine recommended this place to me and told that you sell high quality Jade at good prices?"

Shitou paused. "Oh. Well, then you've come to the right place. Afteer all, the Jade Mystery is an old name in the Jade industry So what are you looking for?"

"Noctilucous Jade of the Radiant grade at the very least." Zhongli piped in.

Shitou took a step back. "Radiant grade? Guess you're not a tourist. I apologize for the misunderstanding, but I do have some you might be interested in." He then pulled out three pieces of dazzling blue Noctilucous Jade. "Go on! Take your pick."

Paimon looked at the stones, bewildered. "Woah. These all look so shiny. Which of these should we pick? Any ideas Mr Zhongli?"

Zhongli put a finger on his chin in thought. "Yes. We can test the Jade to see which of them is of superior quality. The test involves using high heat and observing how the Jade combust. The higher the quality, the longer it will take to combust, due to the stone's superior Pyro affinity. The light produced will also be brighter and bluer when the quality is of the stone is higher. Boss, is it possible to get a sample of each Jade, so that we may test them?"

For a second, Shitou looked taken aback before he composed himself. "Well sir, you certainly know what you're talking about. As for the samples, please wait a moment." Shitou got to work and carved a very thin piece of one of the jades and put it in a glass tube before labelling it and setting it aside. He then did the same thing with the other jades and handed them to Zhongli. "Here you go sir! I hope the test results will be satisfactory!"

Paimon flew up to the tall man and looked at the pieces of Jade. "Huh. These pieces are so thin, that they'll probably burn in the fire. Can't we get a slightly bigger piece?"

Shitou shook his head. "Sorry, but this is the biggest I can go in good conscious."

Again, Zhongli piped in with a save. "Not to worry Paimon. If we infuse the shards with the Hydro element before exposing them to heat, we can preserve the integrity of the shards while conducting the test."

Naruto scratched his head. "So we basically just boil the shards like carrots?" Everyone stared at him while Zhongli nodded.

"Indeed, that is one way of simplifying it. Now then, where can we find a place we can test the jade? The reaction will be quite… explosive after all." Everyone got to thinking. Xiangling's kitchen was suggested, but it was dismissed right after because they didn't want to blow up their friend's kitchen. Paimon suggested the Hillichurl tribe at Dadaupa gorge, but Naruto dismissed it for being too far away.

After some more thinking, Naruto perked up. "Wait! We can use some pots and do the test outside the Harbor! Actually, I have some pots and a stand right here!" He used his vision to accesses the pocket dimension for his backpack, but a polearm appeared in his arms instead. "Oops! Wrong thing!" He quickly dismissed the polearm and summoned the backpack before rummaging through it and pulling out a metal pan. Shaking his head, Naruto put it back and pulled out a metal pot and a stand before turning to face the others. "How's this? We just need to light a fire and put some water into it."

Zhongli looked at the pot and shook his head. "The strength of the pot will not be enough. *sigh* It seems that Dadaupa gorge is our only option. It has been a while since I've visited the land of freedom. Now's as good a time as any, I suppose."

Paion flew around to Naruto. "Hey Whiskers, earlier, when we were ambushed by Treasure Hoarders, you said that you can teleport right?" Naruto nodded, not sure where the little fairy was going with this. "Say, can you teleport us all the way to Dadaupa Gorge?"

Naruto blinked. He put a hand on his chin and started thinking. "Hmm. It would be possible, but I'd be quite out of breath. Let's do it! Everyone hold hands with me and close your eyes."

Lumine looked confused. "Why do we have to close our eyes?"

Naruto gave her a foxlike smile. "Because it helps to keep your food in your stomach. So, everyone ready?" Everyone nodded and linked hand with each other (or clung to Naruto's head in Paimon's case) and closed their eyes. Naruto took a deep breath and activated his Rinnegan, teleporting them to a Hiraishin marker near the sword cemetery before deactivating it. "We're here." Once they opened their eyes, Paimon floated off his head and moved erratically while mumbling about lunch. A second later, Lumine also followed. They both ended up puking in the bushes while Zhongli and Nauro watched with an amused expressions on their faces. "If you guys are done, can we get on with the task at hand?"

After the girls were done, they made their way towards the giant cooking pot near the small arena. Lumine and Naruto cleared out the Hillichurls with unmatched speed and soon, they were at the pot, ready to commence the testing. They placed the shards into a soup the monsters were making and used their Anemo abilities to heat up the fire. Soon, one of the Jades emitted a bright light, which attracted more monsters. "Lumine! You keep fueling the fire! I'll distract the monsters!" The girl nodded and focused on the fire while Naruto leapt into action.

*Interlude to Konoha*

"Wow! Look at this place! It's so beautiful. I wish I could see this for real!" The Konoha 12 (Neji survived and Sai was recognized as an official member) were sitting at a restaurant when Tsunade joined them with Shizune and Naruto's latest reply. What you just read was Ino's reaction to the pictures enclosed inside the envelope, which, for the most part, was the same as the other girls. "Looks like he's living his best life there. I almost feel bad for wanting him here."

For context, after Naruto was banished, they wanted to find him and bring him back because of the bond they shared. The request for a search mission was approved by Tsunade two days after she woke up from a coma that was supposed to leave her unresponsive for months and retook the position of Hokage. Once the mission was approved, they looked for traces and found a very promising trail leading to the valley of the end but the investigation was cut short because the trail ended there. The next day, a weekly patrol had found the remains of a campfire and after Kiba and Akamaru were brought on the scene, they discovered Naruto's scent in the vicinity. By then, it was quite clear that Naruto had learned to successfully fool even the sharp noses of the Inuzuka clan's ninken as well as the abilities of the Byakugan, thanks to his years of pulling pranks.

For two years, these were the only leads they had until just before the start of the Fourth Shinobi war. There had been rumors about a wandering blond spearman that matched Naruto's description defeating Akatsuki members and claiming their bounties from different stations around the Elemental Nations. When the group investigated the reports, they were met with another dead end because Naruto had finally put his Sexy jutsu into good use by disguising himself as a girl when he collected bounties. During this time, Sasuke had returned to the village with a grudge against Danzo after Naruto revealed the truth about the massacre and Obito's part in the whole thing. Seeing that Itachi only killed about a quarter of the clan (Fugaku's supporters) and that it was Obito who did the rest, he was almost ready to destroy Konoha. However, Itachi managed to stop him and Naruto tried to cure Itachi with the Naraka path. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible until Naruto noticed a small seal and undid it, which let the sickness be cured. Sasuke ended up killing Danzo and fleeing Konoha, much to Sakura's dismay.

When Madara declared war on the Elemental Nations, Naruto finally appeared in front of his friends, but he was someone completely different. His Chakra control had improved and his clothes had changed form that unbearable orange to something that a ninja might consider wearing. He also had a polearm that he could use with skill and grace. After Kabuto reanimated a bunch of people, Naruto joined Kakashi and had a rematch with Zabuza and Haku. At the end of the battle, Zabuza gave Naruto his sword and Haku taught him the jutsu he had used against them when they fought on the bridge after Naruto explained how he can use his Rinnegan's ability to perfectly control Chakra to mimic any jutsu he saw. That day, Kakashi shed a tear after seeing Naruto's following in his footsteps. Meanwhile, Itachi and Sasuke, both wielding a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in both eyes, managed to stop Kabuto with a Chakra rod from Naruto which interrupted the Reanimation Jutsu.

Once everything was said and done and Kaguya was sealed away, a part of Black Zetsu that escaped the Six Paths - Chibaku Tensei managed to latch onto Sasuke's left arm and amplify the small amount of hatred in his heart for Konoha. This caused Naruto and Sasuke to have a showdown at the Valley of the End where Naruto finally won by using a Rasengan against Sasuke's Chidori, blasting one of their arms clean off and killing Black Zetsu. Once it was all over, both were welcomed back to the village as heroes and Itachi was forgiven for everything. Naruto and Sasuke were offered prosthetics but only Naruto accepted it, as to not worry his friends as he put it.

Two days later, Naruto had called them for a dinner and told them that he'd be leaving the next day. That got similar reactions from everyone who asked him to stay. Unfortunately for them, Naruto explained that he had found a family and that leaving them would be unfair. Seeing that they couldn't change his decision, they made Naruto promise that he'll write to them and visit every once in a while. Naruto agreed and the next day, before leaving, he left a Hiraishin seal outside Tsunade's office and a modified version of the seal that can allow small summons to pass through, inside her office.

Back in the present, the Konoha 12 had just finished their food and were preparing another letter for their friend with pictures of the meal and another message signed by everyone. "Ahh… That was some great food. Thanks for the meal Choji!" Sakura gave their friend a thanks while leaning into Sasuke.

Choji gave a nod in affirmation when a small toad with a backpack poofed onto Tsunade's shoulder and croaked. "Message from Naruto Uzumaki!" Tsunade's eyes widened and she quickly pulled out the letter from the toad's pack and thanked it before opening it. Inside were two pictures and a folded paper. One picture had a beautiful view of the ocean from a cliff and the other was Naruto smiling with three other people. That caught everyone's eye. In the picture, Naruto was smiling to the side and a blonde haired was standing next to him with a thumbs up and a brilliant smile. There was also what looked like a child with white hair floating with her hands behind her back, also wearing an innocent smile. Last but not least, there was a tall mad with brown hair crossing his arms and only a small smile on his face. "Are they, his friends?" Sasuke asked quietly. Tsunade put the pictures on the table and pulled out the paper and unfolded it. Inside was a note that said he was helping his friend on a journey and that he might not be able to write for a while. There was also a request to only send mail at night, when everyone was asleep. Tsunade smiled at the letter and the pictures and decided to send the letter tonight.

*Back in Liyue*

The group had managed to snag a deal and bought some boxes of the third Jade and called a craftsman to work on them. During this, they had also discovered that Zhongli was broke, something Naruto had found hilarious. The had spent all the money Childe had given them to buy the Jade and, had to go ask him for more money. Once their wallets were replenished, Zhongli had told them that they had to buy silk flowers for the next part of the rite. After Zhongli gave them a short lesson on botany (apparently he knew that too), he had decided to buy all three of the varieties on display. He had then told them to find someone to decoct perfumes from each and meet him at one of the Statues of the Seven. Right now, they were in front of a shop named the Scent of Spring, talking to a woman named Ying'er. When she asked what perfume they were looking for, Naruto decided to buy something for a friend. "I'll take whichever one you're wearing."

Ying'er giggled. "I'm not wearing any, darling. Could it be that you were bewitched by my natural scent? If so, then I'm afraid it's one of a kind."

Naruto nodded. "Oh! Sorry, my mistake, I meant the one that smells like roses. I have a friend who loves them. Do you guys have that?"

"That we do darling. Do you need anything else?"

Paimon flew up to her. "We do actually. We need to decoct three perfumes with three separate flowers. Can you do that for us?"

Ying'er grinned and looked directly at Naruto. "Four in one go? Oh my, you sure have some extreme tastes for someone your age. Maybe those rumors were true after all. You are trying to woo the Yuheng and need some sweet-smelling ammunition. Is that it?"

Naruto backed up. "Nononono! You got it all wrong. It's for Rex Lapis, and nothing else. Well, the rose one is for a friend from Mondstadt but that's not relevant."

Before Ying'er could say anything else, a fake cough from Lumine interrupted her. "Can we get those perfumes made please? We don't have all day." She didn't know why, but seeing this woman trying to flirt with Naruto didn't sit too well with her.

Ying'er sighed. "Ok then. You can be my assistant. However, you better make sure that I am the only person on your mind when you're hanging around with me. ~"

Naruto blinked. "I can do that." He then focused on the laughter in his head. 'What are you laughing at?' Kurama, Kushina and even Minato were laughing at him. "*hahaha* Oh brat! You are so damn dense!" "Sorry son! But they are right about that! *hahaha*" "*hahaha* Damn right we are Minato!" Naruto closed his eyes to tune out the laughs and he succeeded in muffling them. 'Weird.' That just made them louder.

Meanwhile, across the road, Aether was invisible and trying his hardest not to laugh at his friend's obliviousness and his sister's anger. Seeing that he couldn't hold it in any longer, he quickly placed one of Naruto's new silencing seals on himself and let loose. "D-Damn! I don't know why I was against them being together. They are literally perfect for each other!" For his part, Aether decided that Naruto wasn't ever going to go for his sister and that if his sister ended up going for her, he'd be too oblivious to notice, not that it'd ever happen. After some time however, he had seen how happy Lumine looked around him and how much gloomier she looked when he wasn't there. He also saw firsthand how much Naruto cared about her and how much friends mattered to him. So, he decided that if Lumine were to fall in love with anyone, then he'd make sure that it was going to be Naruto she'd fall for. Of course, it'd be best if she didn't fall for anyone but oh well. He can work with this.

5500 words! I passed the 5k mark!

Anyway, I decided to add a bit of a backstory on Konoha because they weren't getting that much attention in any other stories. Hope you liked the version I made up because I just pulled it out of nowhere. Also, I got some people asking about update schedules, so here it is. Each fic will be updated once every two weeks. This means that there will be a new chapter on one of the fics every week. That's all from me! Please leave a review! See you in the next one!