Pirate Ninja Naruto

Chapter 24: Apologies Made. Make Up or Break Up?

"Naruto-kun," Nami sighed in distress. She didn't know what to think, none of the crew did. Jinbe, being the wisest of them suggested Naruto take a few days to think it over and if they come to them and apologize sincerely, then Naruto has to make a decision to either stay in the village with them, or leave with the crew and never return. Those were the options that Naruto had to choose from. From the days when Naruto was young, he didn't understand why his parents felt that way about him until Kurama appeared to him. But forgiving them now is all up to his ex family. If they apologized, Naruto would maybe forgive them but if not, he would just leave the village with the crew. He had a couple days to figure out whether or not he wanted them in his life again. But this decision is up to his family. How would he know, he doesn't at this time. Perhaps he would prefer it if they didn't apologize. Then he could move on with his life knowing he gave them a chance. But he doesn't know what he would even say if they apologized.
    A day goes by with no word from the hokage or Naruto's ex family. Wondering why they treated him that way wasn't getting Naruto anywhere so he decided to do what any pirate would do; go exploring around the village to places where he wasn't allowed to go when he was younger. No one seemed to recognize him as they should. Only his family now knew. But that would soon change as the next day, rumours spread like wildfire and then everyone knew who Naruto was again.
    Some people didn't believe Naruto to be that little monster that they tortured all those years ago. Whispers spread as soon as Naruto showed his face in the center of town. Although the town's people whispered, Naruto could still hear their conversations. "I heard that's Naruto. Our Naruto. The hokage's son." "Well I heard that Naruto died when he suddenly disappeared." "I thought one of us killed him and hid his body." "Well, I thought Kushina killed him after she got mad at him. I remember hearing screaming coming from their house." "I heard from my son who heard from his friend who heard from his cousin who heard Mito, the Hokage's daughter, that Naruto is the Hokage's lost son." The whispers didn't stop until Naruto was out of sight and even then, Naruto could feel the negative and questioning energy of the town. For a small village, news gets around fast and even though Naruto tried to ignore the rumors, it was hard. Naruto spent the day wandering around the village except he was avoiding anyone who questioned him. Many villagers tried to question him and he narrowly avoided the questions by either just pretending they weren't there and quickly walking away or shunshining away. Naruto preferred the latter. On his way, Chopper joined him and they walked through the village until the rest of his family showed up.
    "Naruto-kun, we need to talk," Robin said to Naruto who stopped in his tracks at her tone of voice. Her tone was stern with little emotion. Immediately Naruto knew something was wrong. "Yes, mama?" Naruto asked and Robin motioned Naruto to follow her. Chopper and the rest of the crew including Zoro looked concerned. They hadn't heard Robin speak so seriously in a long time. Zoro ran up to Robin and Naruto could see that they were mumbling but even for Kurama, their whispers were missed. Zoro's face went from worried to concerned to angry. Naruto could tell this conversation wasn't going to be pretty. "Naruto, let's walk shall we?" Zoro said and the tone of his voice made Naruto almost scared of the future. Robin nodded to Zoro and motioned for the crew to follow her while Naruto and Zoro went a different way.
    Out of sight, out of ears, Zoro finally said to Naruto, "Your bio family wants to meet you in person again. I don't know what they're going to say, but it's up to you whether or not you want to meet with them," Zoro said quietly but in a stern gentle voice that comforted Naruto. At least it's not a world ending danger that Naruto was worried this conversation might've been about. "They want to talk to me?" Naruto questioned. Naruto's brain took a bit of time to process what his dad said. "Alone," Zoro said and that immediately became a red flag. Yes Naruto was strong but not nearly as strong as the crew.  "Do you think they're going to apologize?" Naruto asked and Zoro shook his head, "I don't know," he said and that made Naruto nervous. "They want to meet with you today if they can," Zoro said and Naruto felt uncomfortable. Was he ready to forgive and forget? Or was the pain going to be too much for him?
    "I want to talk to mama before I make any decisions," Naruto said and Zoro nodded and started walking in the opposite direction of where the crew went. "Papa, they're this way," Naruto said while sweat dropping. Some things never change. Naruto held onto Zoro's hand while walking back to the direction of the crew. Once everyone was together and caught up on the matter Naruto spoke up. "I don't want to meet with them alone. I want at least mama and papa to be there," Naruto said and the crew nodded. "Maybe Luffy can come too but I really want mama and papa to be there," Naruto said while looking at his family who all nodded in agreement. "I don't want to go," Luffy said and Naruto felt a bit shocked. He thought Luffy would've wanted to go with him. "It's your choice, your life. I'm not here to tell you how to live it. But I'm always here for support, we all are. But I don't see a need for me to be there," Luffy explained and Naruto thought for a second about his words. Luffy was right. Naruto didn't need Luffy to go with him to face his family. It would help but it wasn't necessary. "Okay, Luffy-san," Naruto said and looked at his parents. "Will you guys come with me?" Naruto asked and both Robin and Zoro nodded at their son. "Of course," Robin said. "Oi. Don't forget about me kit. I'm always here," Kurama said to Naruto who chuckled. "We'll go meet them then," Naruto said.
TIMESKIP BECAUSE I'M A LAZY ASS
    "Naruto," Minato greeted with a friendly smile. Naruto didn't know what to think. "Naruto, son," Kushina started and paused to see if Naruto would say something, but he didn't. "Naruto, we're deeply sorry for our actions and how we ignored you," Minato said while getting down on the ground, on his knees and bowing towards his son. Kushina followed, though Mito seemed hesitant. Hesitant would be correct as Mito is the same age as Naruto. She was only following her parents and didn't actually know what she was doing. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you and punished you for things you didn't do," Kushina said with her head on the ground. "I am sorry for my actions!" Mito yelled while bowing at a 45 degree angle. "It takes a lot of humility to be able to admit you're wrong," Kurama commented. "Naruto, I am so sorry for how I treated you. I didn't realize how important you were to me until you were gone," Kushina said and you could hear how upset she was with herself. Robin and Zoro were silent, waiting for Naruto to say something. At that moment, Naruto felt guilty for a reason he didn't know. They treated him horribly. They never protected him when he needed them and now they're asking for a second chance. Do people deserve second chances? Do these people deserve second chances? If he forgave them, then what? Will things go back to normal? Would he stay in the village or go back out to sea? If he stayed, is it guaranteed that he'll be treated well? Questions ran through his head but Naruto didn't falter his stoic expression. His biological parents and sister were still in their positions not moving until Naruto said something, anything.
    "I..." Naruto started and Minato, Mito and Kushina didn't look up. "I forgive you," Naruto said after a long pause. Though Naruto's words rang in Kushina, Minato and Mito's heads, they still didn't lift from their positions. "You can look at me, you know," Naruto jokes, trying to put the past behind him. Kushina was the first to look up and Naruto saw tears streaming down her face. Whether they were tears of joy or guilt, Naruto would never know and couldn't tell. "Naruto-kun," Kushina said while sniffling. Robin and Zoro gave each other a look and sighed. If Naruto forgave them then there was no reason to act hostile towards them. Though both of them wanted to give each of them a good hard slap across the face. "You can stand up now," Naruto said and everyone rose. Naruto even saw tears in Minato's eyes as well. Mito didn't have tears but the look of guilt plastered across her face was enough for Naruto. Kushina looked at Naruto and started crying more. Naruto stood there awkwardly as Kushina cried and Minato held her. "Thank you for giving us a second chance," Minato said and Naruto nodded, still unsure of his decision. "It's a weight lifted off your shoulders, kit," Kurama said. "Yeah it is," Naruto commented. "So now you can stay in the village with us," Kushina said after collecting herself. "We can get you your own bedroom in our house and you can live in the village with us again," Minato added. "We could be a family again," Mito said but even she was unsure of how this would turn out. "Let's take this one step at a time," Naruto said. Minato then said, "I'll call a meeting with the village and we can introduce you to them again." Naruto nodded as he actually liked the idea. "I would like that," Naruto said and Minato smiled.
    "Everyone!" Minato shouted and the village quieted down to hear their hokage. "I wanted to gather you all here today to introduce you to someone who we thought we lost many years ago!" Minato said and whispers spread throughout the crowd. The crew was present but stood in the back, far from prying eyes. "This is my son, Naruto! We thought we lost him many years ago but he has returned!" Minato said after silencing the crowd. The crowd was filled with gasps and murmurs when Naruto showed himself up on stage. Naruto waved awkwardly at the crowd. "I know this is a big announcement but I believe that Naruto, Kushina, Mito and I can become a family once more and I hope I have my village's support!" Minato shouted and the crowd was silent before cheering for their hokage and Naruto. It felt good to be recognized. After the announcement, Naruto's old allies came to talk to him. "Hey Naruto, it's good to see you again," Shikamaru said. Naruto nodded. Shikamaru was one of the only students to not bully him. But he wasn't nice to him either. Naruto had to think about living in the village. His family was the people who were there for him when no one else was. But the village wanted to be his family too. He's only twelve and has his whole life ahead of him to live in the village and reconnect. Life goes by fast but maybe his life would be better in a stable environment like the village instead of the chaotic sea. Or perhaps it's better to constantly change then become accustomed to the same thing everyday. "We leave tomorrow," Robin said to Naruto who quickly remembered his family had been staying in one location for him. It's becoming tiresome for them and Naruto can see Luffy becoming more and more restless without the constant danger of the sea. "You're more than welcome to stay here and reconnect with your village," Robin said to Naruto while gently smiling at him. "It's up to you my chisana kaizoku," Robin said while running her fingers through Naruto's hair.

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Hey guys sorry for the long ass wait. Here's the chapter!
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