Hello there! I'm glad you guys seem to like both the fanfics I wrote. The reviews were very positive and encouraging, and this story has 100 follows! So, I'd like to say Thank you for everyone that read and followed this fanfiction. Anyway, the disclaimer is in the previous chapters and I hope you enjoy!
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Kurama/spirits/beasts talking"
Sal Vindagnir, or better known as Dragonspine, was known for its freezing cold temperatures, the countless annoying fatui crawling around, and that giant dragon skeleton lying around somewhere. Even then, it was the perfect place if you wanted to do something risky that Mondstadt wouldn't approve, hence the fatui.
Cavalry Captain Kaeya Alberich was currently walking towards the top of the frozen mountain. His adopted nephew Naruto had gone missing a few hours ago, but he had a fair idea where he would be. After all, they had a meeting tonight, and Naruto never missed a meeting. "You got here earlier than expected. Are you really Captain?"
Kaeya smirked, hearing the voice. "Speak of the devil and they shall appear." He turned around and faced the person. "I was just thinking about you Sage. You know everyone was worried after you weren't on the dragon? They were searching for you quite frantically."
"Oh that? Don't worry about it. I've got a good excuse for it. Right now, we should be getting to the meeting place." With that, Naruto walked up to Kaeya and held out his hand. With a smile, the captain grabbed the outstretched hand and gave the boy a nod. Nodding back, Naruto focused on a specific Hiraishin seal and appeared in a large well-lit room with 4 chairs around a small table. Right on cue, Aether and Dainsleif also arrived at the room via a portal. They sat on the chairs and everyone turned to Aether to start the meeting.
"Ok then, let's start this meeting. Does anyone have anything important to share?" He asked the gathered group. Almost immediately, Naruto started speaking.
"The activities of the fatui around Mondstadt are increasing. They are getting a lot bolder than they used to be, and it doesn't sit right with me. I also have reason to believe that the Lady will try to steal the bard's Gnosis and that the Bard will allow it." Naruto's words drew everyone's attention.
"Are you sure about this information Naruto?" Kaeya asked him. He may have been from Khaenri'ah but Mondstadt was also his home, and he'll be dammed before he let anything happen to that city. "And if the Bard gives up his Gnosis, won't that be cause for the heavenly principles to cast their gaze on Mondstadt?"
"Not really." Dainsleif answered with a thoughtful expression. "That Bard is a tricky one, and could very well be playing them like a lyre. If a Gnosis was stolen or the archon was coerced into giving it, it is considered below intervention level."
"I'm not sure I follow." Aether asked. "What difference does it make if they were stolen or given? One nation will still have all the Gnosis." He wasn't stupid by any means, but battle strategy wasn't his strong suit. That was more up Lumine's alley.
"It's bit of a work around logic but I get it." Naruto said thoughtfully. "Basically, if the Gnosis, were stolen or the archons were coerced, then it is safe to assume that the other archons will stand against the ones who took them, or in this case, all the other nations will stand against the fatui. It they were given, it may be safer to assume that the archons may be standing with the fatui, trying to create one superpower, so to speak. So, a coercion or a theft is the only safe way to do it without attracting too much attention from the principles." Naruto's explanation was spot on, and he also had another thing he wished to share. "One more thing. As I said just now, I believe that the Bard will let the Lady take his Gnosis. I also believe that he might be doing this to keep the gaze of the principles away from Mondstadt. With the Anemo Gnosis gone, there is no concrete reason for them to watch over the city, or its archon. This all might be an elaborate ploy by the Bard to keep the heavenly principles off his back."
"Let's hope it works." Kaeya added his own input. "No matter how hard we try, we can't protect Mondstadt from the heavenly principles."
After some more hours of discussions, the meeting came to an end and Kaeya and Dain left the room while Naruto and Aether walked over to the latter's bedroom. "So, my brother from another mother," cue Naruto face palming in regret, "I got some news that you have eyes on my sister?" Aether asked calmly. The answer was an even harder facepalm from Naruto.
"Did Dain tell you that?" He asked Aether. At his nod, the former put his face in his hands and groaned. "I told him, I don't have a crush on Lumine! Why would they even say that? Aunt Jean is always trying to get me bundled up with Barbara and now you guys are trying to bundle me up with Lumine. Really, can we just not play matchmaker with my life for one day?" While Naruto kept on ranting about everyone playing matchmaker with him, Aether was lying on his bed, laughing in amusement. After all, Naruto was known for his battle strategies and keeping a cool head under pressure, a far cry from the brash and impulsive kid he used to be. So, watching him lose his cool over something like this only made it that much funnier. If he was honest with himself, he was quite over protective when it came to who was dating his sister, but he'd rather have it be Naruto than some other weakling who somehow got into his sister's good graces.
Finally coming down from his laughing fit, Aether decided to stop Naruto's rant and get some answers from him. "Ok ok, let's ignore your love life for now. So tell me. How was my sister during the Dvalin incident?" Aether asked expectantly. He may not be able to see his sister, but he can get info out of Naruto and try to keep track of her journey.
With a smile, Naruto started explaining everything that happened when they went to confront Dvalin. He watched as Aether's face went through many emotions, from happy and excited to worried and scared, especially when he told him about having to stop Lumine from falling off the platform. After recounting everything to Aether, Naruto noticed a hint of melancholy in his eyes. Even though he tried to hide it, Naruto could tell that it hurt him to not be there with his sister to watch her back, or at the very least, see her emerge victorious. "Hey Aether." Naruto asked softly. "You really miss Lumine don't you?" Aether just answered with a small nod, his eyes down cast. Naruto put a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Tell you what? I'll take you to see her, but with a disguise. You don't want to reveal yourself to her now do you?" Aether perked up.
"What do you mean?" He asked. His voice was filled with hope. He'd give anything to see his beloved sister again, to know that she was fine, that she was safe and that she could support herself.
Instead of answering, Naruto pulled out a stylized ring from his pocket. "Well, Mondstadt isn't Inazuma, and this is an improved version of that ring I gave you a while back. Besides fitting almost any style, it can bypass elemental sight, which the other one could not. So, what are you waiting for? Try it out!" Naruto's little speech was filled with pride as he excitedly pushed the ring at Aether's face.
Looking at the ring, Aether grabbed it from Naruto and put it over his glove, before walking up to the mirror that was in his room and activating it. For this to be possible without chakra, Naruto had made a special mechanism that filtered out nature chakra into normal chakra and made it activate in the presence of a certain type of elemental energy, in this case, Aether's elemental signature. Looking at the mirror with the ring activated, Aether wasn't too impressed until he activated his elemental sight and discovered that he couldn't see through the illusion. While he was poking his face, Naruto looked at him with a smile. "Well, what do you think?"
Aether turned to him with a smile and deactivated the illusion. Naruto could tell that he found it helpful. Looking outside, he saw the perpetually dark sky of the abyss and frowned. "Well, I'd love to stay, but I think I've been here for a while now. If I don't go back the others might get worried about me. After all, uncle Kaeya can only do so much." With that, he said his goodbyes to Aether and teleported to a marker at Dawn winery and started moving towards the building. As he was walking up to the winery, the workers started taking notice and whispering to each other and a maid went inside in a rush. Walking up to the door, he was just about to open it when it suddenly swung open and a white blur raced out and hit him. Hard. Looking down, he was met with the sight of a distraught Barbara, clinging to him tightly. Wrapping his own arms around his friend, he softly spoke to the girl. "Barbara, you ok?" Barbara just kept silent and tightened the hug. "Barbara?" She still kept silent and didn't break the hug, just enjoying his company.
After around a minute, she finally spoke. "Where were you Naruto? You were gone for almost a day. I thought the worst happened when big sister told me they almost fell out of the sky." Her voice was cracking with every word, prompting Naruto to hug her tighter. While he wasn't the type to show affection physically, he understood that his friend was hurting and needed all the comfort she could get. To Barbara, Naruto was the only true friend she had and could truly rely on. While she had a whole fan club in Mondstadt, he was the only person her age that she could really depend on when she needed someone. So, if something happened to him, she didn't know what to do.
While this was happening, Jean, Diluc, Venti, Kaeya, and Lumine were watching from inside because they didn't want to ruin this moment. Eventually, Barbara broke the hug and they walked inside.
Once inside, Jean gave him a check and Kaeya put him in a head lock and ruffled his hair while Diluc and Venti just smiled.
The Next Day
It was a lovely morning as Naruto, Lumine and Venti were making their way to meet Jean and Barbara at the church to return the Holy Lyre. Arriving at the cathedral, they gave the lyre back to the Deaconess, who went with Jean to put it back, and made their way out, with Naruto staying behind for no apparent reason. A few seconds later, Naruto sighed and walked out of the cathedral seeing Lumine knocked out and lying on the floor by pair of Pyro fatui agents and a woman in white and a half mask followed by 2 cicin mages walking towards an immobilized Venti who had his legs frozen. The lady in white walked up to Venti and grabbed him by the face.
"Mondstadt calls this a god?" she asked with unveiled disgust. She looked at Venti like he had done something very bad to her. Naruto had already realized who this was with is single glance. La Signora, The fair lady, 8th of the Fatui Harbingers and the Crimson witch of Embers.
"Resident rodent beats invasive vermin-" A slap silenced Venti from speaking anymore.
"Don't you dare speak back to me, insolent bard." Signora's tone reminded Naruto of the 'Holier than thou' tone that Sasuke used to have. Venti used his winds to melt the ice as Signora continued to speak. "Absentee archon of Mondstadt, how incompetent have you become?"
Naruto just mentally sighed, "Time to go to work." And disappeared.
"That smirk you wear looks out of place," Venti said with a small smile, "Did you steal it from your master's face?" All that got him was a blast of ice that pushed him back.
"Should've held your tongue." Signora shoved her hand into Venti's chest and pulled something out and held it up. It was a queen shaped chess piece, only this one was blue with gold accents and an Anemo green aura. "So, this is a Gnosis? Wouldn't want to be caught wearing this ugly thing in public."
"Beauty is a waste, when the beholder has no taste." Venti was kicked in the head, knocking him out.
Signora just looked at the Gnosis and tucked it away. "Well, we have what we came here for. Come, before our dear favonian friends arrive. Leave nothing for them to find." As she turned around and started to walk away, she saw a blond boy wearing a fox mask was standing behind her mages. Said boy plunged a pair of kunai into the back of their heads, killing them in an instant. Surprised, Signora blinked, only to see the boy was gone. Hearing two thuds, she turned around, only to see that the Pyro agents had also met the same ill fate. "Who are you boy? And what do you think you are doing?"
"Oh me? You can call me Sage. I'm just a little passerby, who happened to see the poor bard getting groped by the… um… mean Cryo lady, and decided to step in and help." Sage's voice was one filled with joy and mirth, combined in such a way that made it sound mocking. "Besides, seeing fatui agents in a place like this warrants attention don't you think, miss whoever-you-are?" Naruto kept teasing Signora about everything, pressing the right buttons to slowly get her angry, but not too fast.
The blatant disrespect shown by the boy was causing her anger to rise, but instead of taking action herself, she called for reinforcements to kill the insolent boy in front of her. Unknown to her, this had been exactly what the boy wanted, and as soon as more fatui agents appeared, the boy grabbed her hand and disappeared while the door of the cathedral opened to reveal Jean and Kaeya with a large number of knights. The respected Honorary knight and an innocent bard lying on the floor unconscious and surrounded by fatui agents, it made for a pretty incriminating scene.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Signora appeared in the Thousand winds temple, with the woman almost puking from the sensation of being teleported. Just as she recovered, she was hit by a punch to the chest that sent her sprawling to the floor. "So, how does it feel to be on the receiving end, Miss Rosalyne?" the boy's voice lacked any mirth or joy. At the mention of her old name, Signora felt her anger rising. Who was this boy? How dare he utter her name after he hit her? How dare he..
With a cry, she sent a blast of ice at him, but it was swiftly dodged and he started walking up to her. Another blast was also dodged and the same with next. Finally, when the one more came, the boy grabbed her cold, gloved hand and directed the blast upwards. While he was occupied, she grabbed his mask, tore it from his face and took a good look at it to commit it to memory. With the authority they had in Mondstadt, she could easily ruin him if she wanted to. The ringed purple eyes that met her gave her an unexpected fright, but it was the sadistic smile on his whiskered face filled that really gave her a fright. Shifting his grip on her arm, Naruto twisted her arm behind her back, the feeling causing her to growl pain. She may be quite powerful, but this wasn't something she was trained for. Just as she was about to launch a spell at the boy, something touched her neck and she was frozen in place. The arrogant boy just walked up to her and grabbed the Gnosis from her pocket and examined it. "So this is a Gnosis." He said. Looking back at her, he walked behind her and quickly pulled the seal off her neck. Not a second later, the boy was frozen and Signora took back the Gnosis, before using her fire to burn him. His screams stopped after a while and she assumed he had died. With a scoff, she turned around and walked away, but upon hearing a poof and seeing the smoke coming out of her hand, she looked back to find the boy missing. Opening her hand, she saw a note that read 'I wonder what her majesty would think of you losing the Gnosis'. Safe to say, she was not happy.
Meanwhile
Lumine was not a happy traveler. First, she and Venti get attacked by a pair of fatui agents, lost her little travel guide, who took her a while to find, and now she was looking for Venti to get some information on her brother. She was on her way to Windrise to see if she can find him there. She wanted to ask him somethings regarding her brother and if he had any idea of his whereabouts. "Oh traveler! Could you come over here for a minute?" Looking around, she saw Kaeya standing next to Good Hunter, the food stall where she and Paimon bought Fisherman's toast and was treated to a Sticky honey roast with Amber. Walking up to the Captain, she inquired why he had called them over. "Well, I just wanted to give you some information. When you guys were fighting the dragon, there was an attack on the city by the abyss order. Luckily, it was only a bunch of hillichurls which we managed to defeat, though there was something strange. There were only lower level monsters, and not even close enough of a number to invade a city. So, I followed my gut and looked inside the city. Well, low and behold, I saw shadows moving through the city and tried to gain some intel. Apparently, part of the abyss order is led by someone called The Prince. I don't know what to do with this information, but it may help you later on." With that, Kaeya walked away, a small unnoticeable frown on his face. he knew Aether was trying to keep his sister safe but it didn't make it any easier to him. Kaeya could only hope that they will meet one day under better circumstances.
Meanwhile, Lumine kept pondering what Kaeya told her as she made her way to Windrise. When she finally arrived at the great tree, she sees Venti near it, recuperating from his wounds.
"The wind among the branches feels so nice. I love the way it smells." Sensing her presence, the bard turns and gives her a smile. "I was saying the same thing last time. I guess I'm down on my luck again."
"Are you ok?" Venti answered with a simple nod and a smile. "What did that woman want from you anyway?"
"What she wanted from me, was my Gnosis. I'm not supposed to discuss this with ordinary people, but considering you have helped Mondstadt, I guess I'll let you in on the secret. As you know, visions are external magical foci given to a few that let them draw power from one of the seven elements of Teyvat. Every wielder of a vision has the chance to attain godhood and ascend to Celestia. We call them allogenes." Venti paused for a breath. "Unlike vision holders, Archons have something called a Gnosis. It's something that grants us a much more powerful connection to our element than an ordinary vision and directly connects us to Celestia."
"Huh. Paimon never knew that before now." Lumine nodded along with Paimon as she had also never heard of something like this. "Also, if that's the case, what's that on your hip?"
Hearing the greedy fairy, Venti just laughed. "Well, these are all secrets that only Archons are supposed to know, so you better guard them with your life. Also, this is just a glowing glass ball I carry around so I don't have to explain myself. Anyway, I won't stay around for long, so feel free to ask me any questions you have now. I may not be the god of wisdom, but I can always try!"
"About the abyss order, Kaeya told me that someone named The Prince leads a part of the abyss order. Do you know who this could be?" Lumine asked Venti. The bard just closed his eyes as if thinking of something.
"Hmm. I can't say that I do. The abyss order is an organization comprised of non-humans who hate humanity, and for them to have a leader called The Prince? I didn't even know of this let alone who it could be, but thanks for sharing this with me." Lumine just gave a nod before asking another question.
"Do you know where they come from, or what caused them to hate humans?"
"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question either. They just appeared a while ago and have been wreaking havoc in Teyvat for a long time now." Venti answered regrettably.
They kept talking for a while longer, with Venti telling Lumine that he didn't have any information on her brother and that the best place to go to next, would be the neighboring city of Liyue, where the God of contracts and Archon of Geo, Morax was in charge. After a getting some more information from the bard, Lumine waved goodbye started walking back to the city.
Watching Lumine walk out of sight, Venti's smile lost its joy. "She's gone. You can come out now." Venti's voice lacked the normal joyful undertone it usually had. Turning around, the bard was greeted by the smiling face of Naruto Uzumaki, his Rinnegan visible for all to see. the bard let out an amused scoff. "So you're The Sage. And here I thought he was just an absurdly powerful herald."
The blond just let out a short laugh. "Don't try to lie out of this Barbatos. You know the identities of all our top members. The Twilight, the Prince and even the Captain. I doubt their identities are a secret from you?" Despite the tension in the air and the seriousness of the words being exchanged, neither sides lost their smiles.
Venti closed his eyes and let out a chuckle. "You're a hard one to fool aren't you?" Opening his eyes, Venti's smile lost all its joy, and the pressure around Naruto increased tenfold, bringing him to his knees. "Let's keep this short. Why are you here and what do you want from Mondstadt?"
In response, Naruto merely let out a short chuckle, before standing back up with a smile. In times like these, his left eye's ability to perfectly control his chakra came in quite handy. It was the only reason that he could cast genjutsu and do things that other chakra users would find impossible. "I just want to know how deep your knowledge of us runs. Give me that information, and I'll leave you alone. And as for Mondstadt," Naruto looked at the city and let out and scoffed, "Do you really believe I'll do anything to the city I see as a home?"
Hearing Naruto's response, Venti was satisfied and released the pressure. "Ok, but if I give you the information you're asking for, what will I get?" The tricky smirk Venti wore was mirrored by Naruto. No matter how much either of them tried to deny it, they were both tricksters of equal proportions.
"Aren't you a tricky one. How about this? For every question you answer truthfully, I'll give a truthful answer to one of your questions. If you lie three times, well," Naruto put his hand into his pocket and pulled out something. Opening his hand, Naruto showed the bard his forsaken Gnosis. "I'll shove this back in your chest." Spotting the bard's eyes widening slightly, he let out a small laugh. "Don't worry. I put up a barrier that prevents the heavenly principles from seeing what we are doing. So you don't have to worry."
Venti crossed his arms and just laughed. "Well, you've won me over. I know a lot about the lesser abyss order from the winds, but not much about the greater one. I know nearly everything about three of you guys. Aether, the Prince named so after the position he held in Khaenri'ah before it was destroyed. The Captain is the Cavalry captain and survivor Kaeya, no need to tell you why he holds that name. And as for the Twilight, I hope Dain is still doing well. We knew each other quite well after all. So for my question, who are you truly, and what gave you your name?"
"Well, since you answered my question that thoroughly, I guess I'll answer both your questions. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, a former shinobi from the Elemental Nations. As for my name, that has to do with my ability to use Sage mode. For my next question, I'm quite that the Anem archon could have easily defeated Signora, so why did you let your Gnosis be taken?"
Venti crossed his arms, getting comfortable with the conversation. "I'm sure you already know the answer to that, and you would be correct, I am doing this to evade the heavenly principles. Now tell me Sage, what is this domain we are in?"
Hearing the question, Naruto's eyes widened this time before he started chuckling as the surroundings fell away to reveal a dark place flooded with water reaching up to their ankles. Looking behind the blond. The bard saw a giant open gate. "This is my mindscape, where I control everything. I must say, I'm impressed you managed to see the difference between this place and the real world. As for my next question, what would you think about an alliance?"
Venti blinked and cautiously asked, "And what do you mean by 'alliance'?"
4370 words
Just so you guys know, this Naruto has no problem with killing. Also, I revealed one of his Rinnegan abilities. To elaborate on it further, it lets Naruto control chakra in any way he wants, be it elemental or physical. If you want to know more about its abilities, I'll give a full demo in the Liyue arc. Also, if you guys like Genshin fan content, check out Progenitor by Dillongoo on yt. Trust me when I say you'll be hooked. Also Barbara is not shipped with Naruto. She just seems like the type to like hugs. Quick question, should I add the Toneri arc? I'm asking because I want this crossover to be different from others, and to keep some of the spotlight on Lumine. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. The next update will be on my other story and they will be updated alternatively. See you in the next one!