Hello again!

So, the Adepti quest is up next. Nothing to yap about this time. Just enjoy! Disclaimer is in the first chapter.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Kurama/spirits/beasts talking"

To any normal person, being in Ningguang's majestic Jade Chamber would be an experience to remember. To the Qixing however, things like that were a common occurrence. Right now, there was an important conversation happening inside between them and a certain guest. "From what we know, the Adepti in Jueyun Karst don't know about Rex Lapis' passing. If the Traveler is headed there, it would cause a lot of trouble for us." The ever so calm voice of the Tianquan carried through the chamber with a certain grace.

"Too bad she is. Childe told her to plead her case with the Adepti so that she could clear her name. In her eyes, she probably needs it to have a chance at travelling through the 7 Nations without a hitch. Makes sense when you think about it. Childe also gave her a Sigil of Permission. I don't know where he got that from, but either way, he can't be planning anything good." The voice of the whiskered blond leaning on Ningguang's desk drew everyone's attention.

"So what do you think we should do Naruto? We can't put too much pressure on the Fatui unless we escalate things." Keqing stared intently at her friend.

Naruto put a hand on his chin. "That's true, but in Mondstadt, we worked something out. All we have to do is catch them in the act. Do you have any information on their operations? If you can clear Lumine's name, I can go out and gather some evidence against them. Think of it as a sort of contract or investment."

Ningguang thought about it. If what she heard of him from Keqing was correct, this was an opportunity she couldn't refuse. While she was thinking, Naruto pushed himself off her desk and started walking away. "Tell me when you've made a decision. I can wait." With that, he made his way out of the floating chamber and looked around before poofing out of existence.

"So how have you been Ajax? Or do you go by Childe now?" Naruto's even voice and calm smile sent a shiver down Childe's spine. Of course this wasn't the first time they had met, far from it actually, but their prior meetings were mostly filled with pain. The last time they met was at Stone Gate when he had tried to ambush him and a friend; it hadn't gone well. Even remembering that encounter sent another shiver down his spine and made his hand gravitate towards his crotch. In the end, he had made it a point to avoid crossing paths with Naruto as much as possible. Now, that very same person was standing in front of him, with a smile and talking like they were old friends.

"I've been good. What about you, comrade?" Even though Childe's tone didn't betray his emotions, he was sure that the sweat gathering on his brow did.

While Childe was close to peeing his pants, Naruto just closed his eyes and smiled even wider. "That's good to hear. Since you still call me a comrade, how about we skip the formalities." And just like that, the smile vanished and was replaced by an unreadable poker face. "I want to know what you gave Lumine. Oh, and don't try to play dumb. I saw everything."

"I-It was a Sigil of P-Permission. W-We found it near Mount Aocang. Since we had no use for it, I decided to give it to her." As the words flowed out, Childe's confidence grew. "I know she was falsely accused for assassinating Rex Lapis, I mean she just got there. Why would you do that, unless you're looking for a scapegoat?" And as the words flowed out, Naruto's suspicion also grew. "I mean isn't that suspicious?"

Naruto took a thinking pose. "You're right. It does seem suspicious." Childe had to hold back a breath of relief. Looks like he's safe. "Sigils of Permission were crafted by Morax himself. So how come the Fatui don't want it?" Childe gulped. Naruto smiled and patted Childe's shoulder. "I'll have to look into it so for now, I'll let you off." With that, Naruto turned around and walked towards the edge of the arch and jumped off, becoming invisible on the way. Seeing him gone, Childe finally let out the breath he'd been holding. At his current level, Childe was sure that he could beat Naruto if he wanted to, but in public, the latter held the power. Being a ninja, Naruto could kill him before he even knew what had happened and he'd rather avoid that.

Aether was sitting down on the steps of Bubu pharmacy in his disguise, waiting for his friend to arrive. Naruto had told him to wait there if he wasn't already there, so here he was. Just when he was going to leave, a yellow flash appeared next to him. A few years back, he would've been startled but this time, he was prepared. "Normally, you're the early one. What took you so long this time?"

Naruto let out a long sigh. "Tracking your sister of course. From what I gathered; Childe sent Lumine to Jueyun Karst to find the Adepti so that they can clear her name after being accused of assassinating Rex Lapis. It feels a bit weird don't you think? Why go to the Adepti instead of some high ranking official thay bribed? Any ideas?"

Aether for his part, was flabbergasted and mad. "Hold up. Rex lapis is dead? By assassination no less? What are they making up? And that blasted whale sent my sister to meet the Adepti with that news? The Adepti?"

Naruto, on the other hand, looked around at everyone. "Hey Aether, I know you're mad but I think you should quiet down. Everyone is staring." Sure enough, when Aether looked around, everyone was staring at them in confusion. "Don't worry. I put up a silencing barrier before the conversation. They're probably just confused about what we're doing and why we're acting like a pair of mimes." Aether looked down and sure enough, there was a light blue colored pattern where Naruto's finger was touching the ground. Suddenly, Naruto shuddered and his eyes glazed over before becoming still again. "As for Morax's death, I don't believe it. You told me what happens when an Archon dies but there was no big disaster, no big explosion, no big anything. Also, I didn't detect anything in him."

Aether looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"

Naruto sighed and looked him in the eye. "There was no Gnosis in that Exuvia."

Now that caught Aether's attention. "No Gnosis? Did the Fatui get their hands on it already? But if that happened, shouldn't there be some news of it?" For a moment, Aether went quiet before perking up and turning to Naruto. "What if Morax is still alive? I mean there wasn't a disaster and no Gnosis in his body."

Naruto nodded grimly. "That's what I was thinking. But if that was true, then where is the old dragon now?" They both thought about it for a while before he stood up. "While you think of that, I'll go and find Lumine."

Aether's head snapped up to him. "And how do you plan on doing that? For all you know, she could be anywhere."

Naruto smirked. "In case you don't remember, the Yaksha at Wangshu Inn is also an Adeptus, which means that Lumine might have to go there eventually. I also have a marker there, meaning I can get there quite quickly. The problem is going to be getting Ningguang's little flies off our tail, but that's nothing a quick genjutsu can't fix. And to top it all off, I know Xiao. By the way, while I'm gone, I need you to keep an eye on the Fatui in the harbor. If you need to contact me, focus on your ring and let it open up." Aether looked at the seal ring in confusion and did as he was asked. At first, he felt nothing, but eventually, it felt like there was a whirlpool was sucking him in. A second later, he had felt a clear connection. 'Can you hear me?' He looked up at Naruto who was still smirking. "Congrats. You have learned to make a mindlink." With that, Naruto disappeared in a yellow flash.

Aether sat there for a second before standing up with a heavy sigh and cracking his knuckles. "Might as well get started then."

With a yellow flash, Naruto appeared behind a tree near Wangshu inn. He didn't want to appear inside the inn and be caught by one of Ningguang's spies. Especially not by the blue haired one. They were on amicable terms but he'd rather keep her off his tail. Her ability to turn invisible and almost erase her presence wasn't anything he couldn't handle, but it was very annoying to deal with. Not seeing Lumine anywhere, Naruto jumped onto a tree and started to meditate.

Back in the Elemental Nations he had been one of the few users of the powerful Sage mode. Sage mode worked by gathering Nature Chakra and blending it with one's own Chakra at a certain ratio. The power obtained by this can boost the person's power to a ridiculous amount. The only down side, is that to collect Nature Chakra, the person has to stay completely still to avoid turning into a stone, and in a fight, staying still could mean the difference between life and death. Aside from the usual, Naruto's Sage mode could also tap into the Ley Lines in Teyvat, which let him increase his senses by a landslide.

Tapping into the Ley Lines, Naruto could feel every person, tree, ant and hillichurl over a large area. Sifting through the information, he honed in on Jueyun Karst and the mountains around it. Here, instead of focusing on and looking through every single energy signature that he could find, Naruto focused on finding traces of his own Chakra in a specific pattern, namely a Hiraishin seal. Naruto had placed one on Lumine back when they were in Mondstadt but right now, he'd rather not appear right next to her. Instead, he wanted to use it to locate her and arrive there to help her if he had to. If all went well, it should seem like a lucky guess and nothing more. After some time, he found what he was looking for. On the path to Mount Hulao was Lumine and her floating companion. Looking a bit more carefully, he could see that her silhouette had splashes of both Anemo green and Geo brown. The crack he had seen in Mondstadt was also wider with more light leaking out. 'If this continues, Lumine could unlock her original powers when she obtains all 7 elements, just like Aether said. We just have to get her there.'

Naruto stopped looking and tapped out of the ley lines and extended his senses to his immediate vicinity. Feeling the signature right below him, he smiled. "Still standing guard are we, Conqueror of Demons?"

"You know it's my duty Sage. Don't forget that. If we weren't friends, I'd have killed you." Xiao's cold voice replied smoothly with the faintest trace of warmth.

Hearing his response, Naruto smiled. He had met Xiao a while ago as Sage. While they had fought at first, they eventually became fast friends and Naruto had revealed his true identity to him. The main reason was because Xiao felt like Naruto's presence could soothe the karma he had accumulated. When he was near the blond, it was like a weight was lifted and he felt like he could relax.

Naruto jumped down from the tree and landed next to the Yaksha. "I won't Alatus. You can count on that. I'd love to talk but I have something to do." With that, Naruto disappeared from Xiao's view.

Lumine wasn't a happy camper. She had come to Liyue to meet with the Geo Archon to get some info in her brother but she ended up with much more than she bargained for. In less than 24 hours after coming to the City of Contracts, she's had to work with a Fatui harbinger, walk back the way she came and ask for help from the Adepti. On top of all that, she was sure that Naruto got arrested and she was alone with only Paimon. Luckily, the Adepti they met, a stag named Moon Carver, was kind enough to sympathize with them and pointed them to meet two other Adepti and a Conqueror of Demons. Right now, she was smashing her way through some pieces of amber to try and find the sibling of a Treasure hoarder she met at the summit. So far, the last few tries had just revealed some slimes, some animals and the occasional hillichurl (all of which were killed) and she was getting frustrated. This was the last one and if he wasn't there, she'd just go back. As her luck had it, he was in the last amber, but as her luck would also have it, she was swarmed by a group of hillichurls and Pyro slimes the second the man left. Now normally, she could've killed them easily, but after spending the better part of an hour hacking away at a rock, she wasn't at the peak of her strength and the Dull blade she used for the task (she didn't want to dull her good sword) was even duller. Right now, she and Paimon were behind a Geo barrier she had erected and taking a small rest. Just as she was hyping herself up to go back out, she heard a loud battle cry and saw the monsters that had cornered her being launched into the sky. Not a second later, they were dragged back in and she saw them flying towards the edge of the cliff. Lumine and Paimon cautiously stepped towards the wall and listened for any sounds to tell them if there were any more enemies around. "There you are!" Startled, Lumine jumped up and turned around to face a smiling Naruto.

"Do you know how long it took me to find you? I had to go all over the harbor, then to Wangshu inn and finally to Jueyun Karst!" While his voice was raised, the joyful smile never left his face. Overcome by relief, Lumine dashed towards Naruto and wrapped her arms around him. "Hey, hey. What brought this on?"

"I thought you got arrested! If that happened, Grandmaster Jean and Master Diluc would have me killed!" Despite her words, the truth was that she was just glad to see him again.

Naruto just chuckled and patted her back awkwardly. 'If Aether saw this, I'd be dead.' He waited for a few seconds longer, ignoring the coming from his mother and the fox in his gut. "Say Lumine, can you let go of me? You're crushing my ribs." Lumine quickly let go of him, albeit with slightly red cheeks, and explained her situation and what she was doing there. "So you need to meet the Adepti to ask them to help clear your name? How about I join you? I know the Adeptus in Wangshu inn, but Mount Aocang is closer to here. How about I head to inn to try and talk to the one there while you go and meet the other two? By the end of it, we can meet back up at the inn and decide our next step from there." Lumine thought about the offer. On one hand, they could cover more ground, but on the other hand, they would have to be separated again. She wasn't sure why she didn't want to part ways with Naruto; she just didn't want to. After some more thought, Lumine reluctantly agreed. Naruto gave her a smile and walked towards the edge of the mountain and jumped off before pulling out his wind glider and gliding away.

*Meanwhile, with her brother*

While Naruto and Lumine were making their way to meet the Adepti, Aether was keeping an eye on the Fatui. How was he doing it? By using Naruto's ring to turn invisible of course. How it worked, he did not know, but right now, he was inside Northland bank, watching Childe as he was giving out orders to and taking reports from multiple members of the Fatui. 'So they're doing research into the Sigils of Permission? This can't be good. What would they even do with them?' While he was thinking, he caught the tail end of a conversation between an envoy and Childe.

"The research into the Sigils is going well lord Tartaglia. We should have enough of them to carry out the plan soon." Childe nodded and raised a hand to dismiss him.

He then stood up from his table and walked around to another group. "Alright then. Any leads on where the Exuvia is being stored?"

One of the Fatui members bowed to Childe and started speaking. "Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find anything regarding the Exuvia, Lord Tartaglia. All we know is that the Qixing are very tight lipped about its location."

Childe put a hand to his chin and nodded. "Alright then. What about the Qixing themselves? Have you been able to get anything from them at all? Any ideas about their actions?"

A different Fatui member bowed and started speaking. "No, my Lord. However, they have increased the guards around Northland bank and have started aggressively hindering our operations. So far, they've cracked down on one Delusion factory but we managed to move the Delusions away before they got there."

Childe held his gaze on him and scoffed before turning around and walking away. While he was walking, Aether quietly moved out of the way to avoid a collision with the harbinger. Unfortunately, his hand grazed Childe's scarf which made him turn around and summon his hydro daggers before scanning his surroundings. Even with the weapons being occasionally pointed at him, Aether remained calm. He knew that if he tried anything, he'd be giving himself away, so just in case, he pumped some energy to his right arm.

As his luck would have it, Childe used Elemental vision and eyes honed in on Aether's location. With a grunt, Childe trust one of his daggers at him, making Aether sidestep and duck under another swing. He kept his eyes on Childe but didn't retaliate. This kept on for some time until Aether reached the door. When his hand touched the wood, Aether pushed open the door and jumped on to the roof before teleporting back into top floor of the building while using the ring to take the form of a normal Fatui member. Looking around, he saw that the bank was vacant, courtesy of Childe's orders to capture him. Not one to wait around, Aether quickly started sifting through some important looking documents that he had seen on Childe's desk. Just when he was getting complacent, he heard the sound of loud, angry footsteps coming towards the door. Aether knew he had to be quick, and he was. He quickly committed some important details into memory and teleported to Mount Tianheng just as the door opened. Aether looked around and made sure that no one was looking before dropping his disguise. 'I should tell this to Naruto.'

With that thought, Aether quickly opened up a mind link but ended up catching some stray thoughts. 'If Aether saw this, I'd be dead.' Aether quickly dismissed the mind link and teleported to Mount Hulao. There, on the path to the summit, he saw Lumine hugging Naruto while the latter was awkwardly patting the former's back. For an instant, he was mad. His best friend was hugging his sister (even though it was the other way around)! For a second, he was about to storm over to the pair in a fit of overprotective sibling rage and tear the two apart, but he managed to compose himself. On second thought, it might be a better idea to dig further into this. With that thought, Aether disappeared but asked Naruto to meet him back at the abyss.

*With Naruto*

Naruto flashed outside Aether's bedroom and knocked. He had sent a Kage bunshin to Wangshu inn so that he could meet up with Aether. He heard a faint 'enter' coming from the room and walked in. Inside, he saw Aether sitting on his bed and checking his sword in a way that sent shivers through his spine. He ignored it in favor of locking the door when Aether told him to do so. Once he did so, he walked up to the table in the room and pulled out the chair and sat in front of Aether who was still checking his sword. As soon as he did, Aether's eyes gazed into his own like he was trying to burn a hole through Naruto's head. "A-Aether? Is everything ok?"

Aether gave him a close eyed smile. "Yes, everything is fine." Naruto did not like that tone. "I just wanted you here to ask you a simple question." Aether dismissed his sword and his face lost the smile. "What were you doing hugging my sister?"

Naruto sputtered and almost fell off the chair. 'He knows! I'm dead!' While he was wondering how Aether knew about it, he heard the laughter of a certain fox in his gut. 'Kurama! You better not have something to do with this!' In response, Kurama laughed even harder. "Oh brat! I have nothing to do with this. Your friend opened up a mind link and heard you thinking that he'd kill you, so he came to see what happened and the rest is history!" While the fox continued laughing, Aether kept his gaze on Naruto. "She hugged me first! Not the other way around!"

A few seconds later, Aether burst into laughter. "R-Relax! I-I'm joking!" He was laughing so hard that he couldn't talk without stuttering. "T-The look on y-your face was p-priceless!" While Aether was doing a great job of mimicking a suffocating hyena (quite literally), Naruto looked about as confused as a deer in headlights.

After a few more minutes of laughing, Aether finally calmed down and Naruto decided to take the opportunity to get some answers. "What's going on? And why were you laughing so hard?"

Aether looked at Naruto with eyes filled with mirth. "I was laughing because of the face you made. You looked so scared!"

Naruto flashed Aether an affronted look. "Oh I'm sorry for thinking you were going to KILL ME! Anyway, is that why you called me here?"

Aether closed his eyes and sighed, making all the mirth leave his face. When he opened his eyes, they were dead serious. "No. I called you here because I found something from the Fatui. Looks like they're planning to bring back Osial, the Overlord of the Vortex." Naruto's eyes widened and then narrowed.

"Tell me everything."

*Smol Timeskip to the Jade Chamber*

The Jade chamber, that was normally full of hardworking people was oddly empty today. The Qixing were standing around a table in front of a tall man. He had short brown hair with a single long ponytail with a lighter color near the end and golden-brown eyes. He had a very intimidating presence that could make even the Tsaritsa tremble, but right now, all they felt was a calm comforting aura.

"Good to see you again Morax. Or do you go by Zhongli now?" Despite the person in front of them, Ganyu's tone was quite casual.

Morax smiled fondly. "I am doing quite well Ganyu. It is also a pleasure to see you again Ganyu. I hope Cloud Retainer hasn't been giving you too much trouble. As for my name, please call me Zhongli. I do not wish to be known as the God of Contracts any longer."

Just as Ganyu was about to say something, a knock on the door drew their attention. "Lady Ningguang! Lady Ganyu! Ke- I mean Lady Keqing! It's me Naruto! I have some important information!"

4000 words. Not too shabby.

So, what did you think of it? I'd say it turned out quite well. And also, the ship has been finalized as Naruto x Lumine. Also, in my Naruto x hsr fic, a lot of people seem to have gotten confused over the ship, but there are a lot of people wanting Naruto x Acheron rather than the decided Naruto x Jingliu one. To clear up the confusion, I'll be putting up a poll that will last the same time as the Caelus ship votes (until the end of the Jarilo-VI arc). I put up the notice on this fic because I'll be releasing the next chapter for my other fic next weekend. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review (no reviews = no readers). Please vote. See you in the next one!