Hello there!

Updates were quite shifted a bit because of the new fic. Idk if you guys read it, but if you did, then thanks for the support. So, for this one, I want to get started on the Liyue finale. I will also start the Dainsleif quest because Anyhow, the disclaimer is in the first chapter and let's begin.

Naruto woke up in the dead of the night and got out of bed. He extended his senses and memorized the positions and fields of view of all the Millelith guards in the vicinity. He also sensed Lumine, peacefully sleeping in her bed along with Paimon, who he assumed had snuck in later. Naruto smiled ant the image and sighed. He'd love to sleep more, but he had an appointment to meet.

With that thought in mind, he used his Chameleon jutsu and snuck out. While he could easily stay out of sight with it, he still preferred to stick to the roofs like a seasoned shinobi. A minute later, he arrived at the shore and jumped off before landing on the water and continuing on towards the jagged stones that formed Gunyun Stone forest.

In another five minutes, he arrived at his destination and noticed Childe sitting at the shore. Naruto slowed down to a walk and put on his mask, transforming into Sage once again. Childe smiled at the sight of Sage walking towards him from the sea. "Welcome comrade! Here I was, beginning to think that you weren't planning on ever showing up."

Sage chuckled. "You should consider yourself lucky if I did that. Now then," He summoned two curved blades into his hands. "Shall we?"

Childe returned the smile, summoned his Hydro daggers and charged him. Sage dodged the blows aimed for his chest and countered one bound for his head. Childe's dagger disappeared and reappeared, still on its course but Sage was faster. He dropped the blades and used his other hand to deliver a punch to Childe's abdomen that sent him flying. "You can try all you want, but you'll be down by sunrise. I promise you that."

Childe dug his weapon into the ground to stop himself before standing up and brushing the dust off his clothes with a laugh. "Big words from someone like you. How about we skip the appetizers and go straight for the main course!" With that, he brought his mask onto his face and his clothes turned black and his daggers turned purple before combining into a polearm. With the new weapon, he released a wave of electrified water that sharpened itself into a blade.

Sage sighed and held up his hand, freezing the wave midair. When it came close enough, he grabbed it and spun around, throwing it straight back at its sender. Chile countered it with another wave and charged him head on. Sage raised his hand. "When will you realize," He curled his fingers into a fist. "That you'll never get close enough!" He phased out of sight and Childe felt his mask shatter from single blow. He coughed and scraped off the remains of his mask and the blood from his face and looked up. When he did, he saw Sage wiping off the blood on his hands. "Is that it?" Childe pushed himself up while Sage walked up to him, charging his fist with what looked like Anemo. "That's what you were planning to use against me? How pathetic." Childe gritted his teeth and crossed his arms to summon his ultimate weapon. However, before he could begin, Sage grabbed his arms and brought their faces closer. "Save it. You'll need to confirm our contract. As for this battle, I think it's safe to say that I won." He tightened the grip on Childe and brought the charged fist towards his abdomen. "Don't worry, this won't kill you. But it will hurt." With that, he sent Childe flying. After he was out of sight, Naruto took off the mask and Hiraishined to his hotel before deciding to put up some precautions for the next day.

Lumine groggily opened her eyes and stretched under her covers with a yawn. The warm blankets and the soft mattress made it feel like she was in heaven; so much so, that she didn't want to leave. As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, the events from last night came to her mind. Naruto had brought some food and they had shared it. It hadn't seemed like anything then, but looking back on it now, she realized how much it had looked like a first date. The thought brought a slight blush to her face but she shook it off. Suddenly, her eyes widened when she heard the sound of light snoring beside her. 'Wait. Did he sleep here last night?' The thought sent a jolt down her spine that felt rather pleasant. With a gulp, she slowly turned around, expecting to see Naruto's whiskered face right next to hers.

Instead, she was met with the sleeping form of Paimon, who was cutely sucking on her thumb like a baby. She let out a sigh of relief, conveniently ignoring the small pang in her heart for the sake of watching the cute little fairy snuggling into the covers. She watched her sleeping contently with a small smile before remembering that Paimon wasn't with her when she went to bed last night. She also noticed the curtain that looked a bit bright for the morning and reluctantly got out of bed. The cold air sent a shiver through her which she ignored in favor of checking outside the window. When she opened the curtain, her eyes were met with the blinding light of the afternoon sun. "Oh no! I overslept!"

*One hour later*

Lumine had hurriedly gotten dressed and was now looking for Zhongli with Paimon by her side. Seeing as they couldn't either find him or Naruto, they decided to head up to Yujing Terrace to wait for them. Sure enough, when they got there, they saw both Zhongli and Naruto standing there, having a serious conversation. When the latter saw them approaching, he gave them a bright smile and waved. They returned the gesture and jogged the final bit to reach their friends. "Hello Mr Zhongli. Why didn't you wake me up Naruto? If you did, we could've gone looking for the rite."

"Hello to you too Lumine." Naruto responded dryly. "I was going to wake you, but you looked so peaceful while sleeping, so I decided to let you get some rest. As for the rite, me an Mr Zhongli here already got all the things. We also swindled Childe a bit more if that's ok with you."

Lumine couldn't decide whether to laugh or to smack Naruto up the head. "Really?" Naruto nodded with a smile, causing the Traveler to sigh. "Maybe don't do that."

Seeing the small banter between them, Zhongli's lips stretched into a smile. As much as he didn't want to disturb them, he cleared his throat to get their attention. "Now then, since our job is done, all we need to do is wait for the rite to begin. On behalf of the Wangsheng funeral parlor and all of Liyue, I thank you."

Paimon soaked up the praise like a sponge. "Don't sweat it. We were glad to help, right?" Lumine nodded happily and Naruto followed. He stretched out his arms and yawned quite loudly.

Seeing everyone stare at him, he blinked. "What? I didn't sleep last night."

Paimon flew up to him confusedly. "What'd you mean by that? Didn't you sleep last night?"

Naruto bit back a snarky comment and shook his head. "Nope. I had something to handle last night so I could only sleep for a few hours. I think Zhongli here might know something about it."

Zhongli stiffened. 'I might know about it? What is he implying?' He though back to last night and his eyes widened when he remembered. 'A contract was fulfilled last night. One between Childe and Sage of the Abyss, but if he knows, could it be…?' During his lifetime, Zhongli had heard many things about the Abyss Order and had even seen what they did. However, much more recently, he had spoken to Xiao, who had described Sage as a genuinely good person who. This situation made him reflect on the conversation he had.

*Flashback*

Zhongli took a sip from his tea as Xiao appeared behind him. "You called for me, Rex Lapis?"

The man nodded. "I did. Take a seat Xiao." Xiao sat down with his spear on the floor and Zhongli poured him some tea. "I take it that you are unaware of why I summoned you here?" Xiao shook his head and Zhongli took another sip. "Well, I happened to hear some rumors that you have connections with the Abyss Order. Care to explain?" The words came out a bit harder than he's intended but he ignored it.

Xiao flinched but he collected himself with a breath. "I take it Could Retainer told you this?" Zhongli nodded in affirmation. "Yes. I am friends with Sage of the Abyss Order. No matter what you think, he is a good person, and before you ask, I cannot reveal who he is, because I am bound by a contract."

Zhongli raised an eyebrow and closed his eyes. Sure enough, there was a contract between Xiao and Sage. "Very well. I won't ask that question. However, I am curious on why you decided to accept his friendship."

"Because the voices die down near him." Zhongli made a questioning expression, prompting Xiao to explain. "The Karma normally sounds like hundreds of voices trying to pull me down, but around him, it drawls down into a whisper and sometimes, it stops entirely. I asked him about it one day, and he said that it is because I am not focusing on fighting demons, but I don't believe that."

Zhongli hummed. "Is there anything else you can tell me about?"

Xiao hummed. "Yes. He operates on a system of favors that act like bargaining chips. If he does a favor for you, then that's one he has over you. Now, if he invokes this, then you're under his control. He also exchanges information in a similar way. He calls it 'equal value trade'. If you give him some intel, he will give you intel in return. The detail and the quality is based on what you give him. No matter what, he is not someone you can mess with."

*Flashback end*

He looked at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. The boy was smiling with Lumine and Paimon who were both trying to coax what he was up to last night. Then, he caught Naruto's eye and Zhongli could've sworn that he saw a glint of purple in it. 'So he is Sage. But why did he make it that obvious? Did he want me to know he's Sage?' With that that thought, Zhongli took his leave.

"Fine fine!" Naruto finally relented. "I went to meet up with Keqing to ask if there's anything else I could do."

Lumine felt a pang in her chest which confused her. "What do you mean by anything else you could do?" The sentence came out through gritted teeth, but Naruto was too dense to notice anything wrong.

"Well, I felt bad that she had to work for the whole day and night, so I offered to help. Did I do something wrong?" The confused tilt of his head made him look somewhat like a fox.

Lumine sighed and that confusing pang in her chest disappeared. "No. It's nothing. Anyway, since we still have some time to the rite, how about we go for a stroll through the harbor to kill the time?" Naruto nodded with a smile and the trio set off. On the way, they bought some Grilled Tigerfish and talked about whatever came to mind. Naruto talked about his work at Dawn Winery and Lumine talked about what she came to love about Teyvat. While they were walking, Paimon noticed some commotion at the gates and the trio went to investigate.

When they arrived there, they saw some Fatui soldiers and Zhongli standing at the gates and decided to take part in the conversation. "The Adepti of Jueyun Karst are on the move."

Zhongli narrowed his eyes. "Do they intend to exercise force?"

The Fatu agent sighed. "Most likely. I've heard that some members of the Qixing have already left to meet them, although I believe that they may be trying to stall them instead. As of now, both sides have hit an impasse."

Zhongli hummed. "Given the situation, it seems inevitable. Surely, the Qixing won't give in that easily? And how have the Fatui come under fire for this?"

"Humph. Their bone headedness is known throughout the lands, so I doubt they would. As for us, that is all Ningguang's doing. Also, I'm sorry to inform you that Wangsheng funeral parlor might also get involved in this."

"I see. Thank you for this information. I must head for the Wangsheng funeral parlor to sort out some things. Also, Traveler, if you are looking to prevent an explosion, it is wise to look for the fuse first. I will see you again." With that, Zhongli left and the trio were left with the agent.

They thought about his words and noticed something strange. "Wait." Naruto and Lumine looked at Paimon. "Where's Childe?" Their eyes widened and they quickly got to thinking.

"He wants the Gnosis, so he must be looking for the Exuvia and if he's not here, he has to be using the disturbance to look for it." Lumine put in. "But the Exuvia hasn't been seen since the Rite of Descension, which means that the Qixing must have hidden it, but where?"

"The Golden house." Naruto's voice was quiet but Lumine still heard. "The Golden house was closed soon after the rite and they the Qixing upped its security. In their statement, they claimed that they wanted to keep tabs on the Mora, but it is also the best place to hide the Exuvia. Think about it. Premium security, out of the way location and a large space. Those sound like perfect conditions for hiding a giant dragon."

Lumine and Paimon gave it some thought and nodded along. "You're right. We have to get there." With that, they set off towards the Golden house, ready to face any disaster that might arise.

The Golden house of Liyue is one of the most important places in Teyvat, thanks to its status as the only mint in Teyvat. That's right, all the Mora in the world comes from this one building. It was built like an ornate palace, carved into the side of a mountain, which gave it an abundance of space. On a normal day, this place would be heavily guarded, and ever since the Rite of Descension, the security had been increased quite a lot.

Despite this, there was a severe lack of Milleith forces outside when the trio arrived. Naruto and Lumine nodded at each other and pushed Paimon behind them before continuing inside. When they went inside, their eyes were drawn to the Exuvia that was wrapped around a pillar. They stared at the sight in awe, but stopped when saw the missing guards, all unconscious on the floor. "W-what's going on?" Paimon asked fearfully.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Lumine and Naruto summoned their weapons and turned around to face the intruder. Childe walked out from behind a pillar, wearing a smile that put everyone on edge. "I came here for the Exuvia, but these guards weren't even enough for a warm up. I was hoping you'd be here. And now that you are," He pointed at Naruto. "We can finally have our rematch."

Naruto put away his sword and summoned a black shakujou. "Lumine, I want you to go and notify the Qixing while I hold him off."

Lumine looked at him confusedly. "What do mean hold him off? Eleventh or not, that is still a Fatui Harbinger!"

Paimon nodded at Lumine's statement. "Yeah Whiskers! We aren't leaving you alone here, especially not with him!"

Naruto gave her a confidant grin. "Don't worry you two. I've beat him before and I can do it again. Besides, you can come back after letting them know. Also, I hate to say it, but I fight best when I'm alone. So trust me, and be quick. Actually, see if you can convince Ganyu to come around. She might be a much better help in this case."

Lumine idly wondered why he wanted Ganyu here but it was overshadowed by the two ideas conflicting in her mind. On one hand, she didn't want to leave him alone to fight a Fatui Harbinger, who she didn't know the strength of. On the other hand, she understood his reasoning and wanted to go and get help to fight the Harbinger. After some thinking, she decided to go against her heart and call for help. She gave Naruto a nod and looked him straight in the eye. "Be safe." With that, Lumine and Paimon left them alone.

Naruto nodded and watched her run past Childe and out of the Golden house. When only him and Childe were left, all the tension left Naruto's body and he turned his back to him as they walked towards the center of the building. "Now then," He turned around to face Childe and both combatants brandished their weapons. Naruto's eyes rippled into the Rinnegan and Childe donned his mask to release his Delusion. "Shall we?"

Childe chuckled behind the mask. "You'd have made a good Fatui Harbinger you know? It's a shame the Prince found you first. But, ignoring that, let's begin!" Without another word, they charged at each other.

Lumine ran as fast as she could, dashing towards the place where the Jade Chamber was floating a little outside the city. She remembered the wind currents she found earlier tried to do a similar thing with her Anemo, and to her surprise, it worked. It sped up her journey and she managed to reach the floating abode in under five minutes. When she got there, she saw the Qixing and the Adepti talking to each other, trying to negotiate something. However, the sound of her landing brought their attention to them and Lumine made full use of it. "The Fatui are trying to take the Exuvia! They're at the Golden House and Naruto is holding off one of their Harbingers, but he might need help! He also asked for Ganyu. Said that she could be of help."

Ganyu didn't waste any time and looked at both sides. Cloud Retainer and Ningguang nodded and she ran up to Lumine. "Let's go! We need to take him down before he does too much damage!" With that, they ran back towards the Golden house.

Naruto swung his staff to send out a slash of Hyoton Chakra, freezing a giant whale made of water midair. The second slash of white hot fire that followed, turned the ice sculpture into steam. He ducked under an arrow and swung his staff to meet Childe's own Electro-Charged polearm. Naruto pulled him closer and pressed his hand into Childe's abdomen. The ginger looked at him with visible confusion while Naruto smirked gave him a wink. "Shinra Tensi!"

Childe was sent flying into the wall with flashbacks of last night. Again, like before, he pulled himself up and looked at Naruto who was walking away with his back turned to him. Any normal person would take this as a stupid mistake but Tartaglia knew better. Naruto was mocking him by so brazenly exposing vulnerability in front of him. He also noticed the Exuvia sitting right there and decided that he'd rather get more power from the Gnosis fulfill his mission before fighting. He floated up to the Exuvia and touched the chest of the giant dragon. Oh how ironic! He'd win where Signora failed. He'd get Her Majesty a Gnosis to replace the one that Crimson Witch lost. Victory was so close that he could almost taste it. "What?" That lick of victory was replaced with the bitter tase of confusion and anger. "The Gnosis. Where is it?"

In anger, he turned around to face Naruto, who was leaning on the pillar and looking at him with a smirk. In anger, he pointed his finger at the blond. "You! You stole the Gnosis! You set this up!"

Naruto chuckled. "Are you being serious right now? Is that Delusion getting to your head? How could I have done that?" He chuckled again but he kept his eyes locked on the emo looking angry ginger.

Said ginger growled and launched his spear at Naruto. The blond didn't budge, as a blue wedge shaped shield appeared in front of him to deflect the attack. While his left eye gave him perfect Chakra control, his right eye let him create Chakra constructs, all the way from weapons to walls to even a house.

Childe growled again and landed on the ground before crossing his arms over his chest. 'Is he really going to use that here?' Naruto idly wondered. 'Well, if he wants to make this easy, then so be it.'

Electrified water swirled around him as he levitated in the air. He spread out his arms and the electrified water surrounded them in black armor. His body and face were also covered, leaving him in a dark black armor that made him look quite threatening. He held out his hand and his spear flew towards him. He hoisted it over his shoulder and the weapon took a more twisted and scaly appearance. "Foul Legacy – The Devouring Deep!"

Lumine and Ganyu were making their way to the Golden House when they felt it. Being a half Adeptus, Ganyu's senses were a lot better than normal and right now, she felt something dark coming from the Golden house. As for Lumine, the dark miasma from that direction went against her powers over light, and while it could not harm her, it still felt out of place. Without a word, the two picked up their pace.

The smile on Naruto's face made Tartaglia angrier and angrier. "Now that we are here at the main course, let's start getting serious, shall we?"

In a fit of rage, Childe brought his spear down on the floor, breaking it and making everything fall down to the lower floor of the mint with a cloud of dust. He slowly floated down through the dust and waved his staff to disperse the cloud. The sound of slow, mocking clapping echoed through the Golden House, drawing Childe's attention towards Naruto, standing on the ceiling with that same smile on his face. "And what was that supposed to do? Kick up some dust?"

As Lumine and Ganyu closed in on the Golden House, they heard a loud crash echo from the building. They looked at each other and increased their pace. Along the whole way, Lumine's throat was closed up with a known of worry for Naruto. 'Please be safe Naruto. Please.'

Childe growled and Naruto took the chance and pushed off the ceiling, reaching the Harbinger in less than a second and aiming a punch to his abdomen. Childe dodged it, and launched and wave of water at him. A whack from his staff broke it apart and he flashed in front of him.

This was a deadly upgrade he made to the Hiraishin, based off his friend Keqing's usage of Electro stilettos for her teleportation. It required the user to spread out their Chakra over a large area and manipulate it into forming the 'tag' needed for the jutsu. Of course, it was still far from practical, considering the Chakra cost, which is why he saved it for long drawn-out fights. Either that, or he could use his perfect Chakra control to mark a target, as long as he was in his Sage mode..

Childe shrunk back and Naruto sent him flying straight to the wall again. This time, Naruto dropped his shakujou and held out his left hand before shouting out a jutsu. "Bansho Tenin!" Childe flew towards him and Naruto thrust his right arm, which held a glowing blue orb, straight into Tartaglia's chest. "Rasengan!"

Childe screamed in pain as the jutsu almost tore through is Abyssal armor. Naruto closed his eyes and deactivated his Rinnegan with a sigh. Childe took the opportunity and tried to get a hit on Naruto, but a Cryo charged arrow landed behind him and froze his feet to the floor.

He looked up to see Ganyu and Lumine standing side by side and looked back at Naruto who had a smirk on his face. without sparing another glace at him, he kicked his staff and walked towards him while pretending to check the time. "And that, should be time."

Sure enough, the Foul Legacy transformation fell apart, revealing a panting Childe while Naruto broke the ice. He fell to the ground as Ganyu and Lumine jumped down with the former still have a Cryo charged arrow trained on Childe's head. The Harbinger only chuckled while Naruto knelt down in front of him with a smile. "So you were waiting for the Princess to bring backup weren't you? That explains why you didn't go all out."

Naruto chuckled and pulled Childe up to his feet. "Of course. Now that your battle lust is out of the way, how's little Teucer doing? I believe they don't know about your line of work yet?"

Childe hummed. "He's doing well and no; I don't intend on telling him ever. With kids like him, it's best to preserve their innocence for as long as possible." Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground below them and Childe's eyes narrowed. "Who activated it now?"

Lumine locked him with a sharp glare. "Activated what?"

"The backup! In case we couldn't find the Gnosis, we'd unseal the Overlord of the Vortex; Osial. Judging by that tremor, looks like someone else gave the go ahead." Childe's voice was bearly heard over the tremors that loosened debris from above.

Naruto sent a blast of Anemo to stop them from crashing into them and looked at the girls. "Listen. You need to get outside to help out with Osial. I'll get you out." He then took off his wind glider and gave it to Ganyu. "Take this. I can make a wind current out of here. Me and Childe can get ourselves out, but we are tired, so I'd just be dead weight."

The girls nodded at the explanation, though Lumine looked like she wanted to protest, and Naruto made a powerful wind current, lifting them off their feet and sending them to the door. Once they were out of sight, Childe turned to Naruto. "You didn't stay back because you're tired, did you?"

Naruto rolled his eyes with a smile. "You're right about that. So, want to witness Sage's debut to Liyue? Or you want to stay here?"

Childe chuckled. "And miss out on the show? I think not." With that, he held out his hand, which Naruto took before Hiraishining them to the mountain that stood guard over the gates of Liyue. There, Childe saw someone he hadn't expected to see. "My Prince!" He spoke with a bloated tone and an exaggerated bow. "What an honor to meet you again!"

Aether chuckled. "Good to see you too Ajax. If you hadn't joined the Fatui, you'd have made for a fine addition to our ranks."

Childe dismissed it with a wave. "Oh please. I'm only good at fighting, and don't worry. I won't sell you out."

Naruto also chuckled. "Good to hear that. And about time you two arrived." The air around them shimmered into an abyss portal, out of which Kaeya and Dainsleif walked out of. "Right on time too. The battle is starting."

4600 words. I started writing this on Thursday, so not too bad I guess.

The fight between Childe and Naruto is done. What did you think? Did I do a good job? The next chapter is going to contain the whole Osial boss fight and Zhongli's Gnosis case. As for the ship, it's Naruto x Lumine and the budding seeds are already planted. As for Childe, maybe I can make him leave the Fatui? I mean he deserves better than being yeeted to the Abyss and I want to make him a true homie here. Anyhow, please leave a review to let me know what you're thinking and I'll see you in two weeks. Peace out!