Uchiha Ryōsuke looked at Nara Shikaku and asked a counter-question.
"Did you all not see Naruto's current miserable state?"
"His face is covered in blood. He is so young, his body so fragile. After suffering such a heavy blow, he nearly died. This is essentially attempted murder. Do you really think five years is too long?"
"If you still have objections, try putting yourselves in his shoes. If your own child was smashed by such a large rock and stood before you with their face covered in blood, what would you do?"
Nara Shikaku was stunned. Premised on that question, if someone dared to do that to his son, he would definitely beat the guilt until they were half-paralyzed just to vent his anger.
Seeing that the other party had nothing to say, Ryōsuke continued.
"Five years of imprisonment for such a crime might even be considered light. This is the crime of attempted murder. Do not let him off just because he is a child. If he is not strictly punished now, what will happen when he grows up?"
The Nara Clan Head felt a bit shaken inwardly. It was indeed true.
If he dared to smash someone with such a large rock at such a young age, he would surely use a knife when he grew up.
However, at this moment, Nara Shikaku still offered a new suggestion.
After all, what Uchiha Ryōsuke said was hypothetical. If the victim were their child and they were the ones enforcing the law, it would not be impartial enforcement. Their love for their child would severely affect their judgment.
"Ryōsuke, this is still too heavy. How about changing the sentence for the oldest one to one year? Consider it education. Otherwise, five years of imprisonment will greatly affect him."
Ryōsuke, however, frowned.
"Whether it affects him greatly is not something a law enforcer should consider."
"Criminals should think about the consequences before they act."
"We should protect the interests of the victim, not the interests of the criminal. That would be losing our sense of property."
Nara Shikaku was stunned again, and a realization suddenly dawned on him.
Indeed, he seemed to be safeguarding the criminal's interests right now, rather than protecting Naruto's rights.
The way to protect his rights was naturally to sentence the criminal heavily and seek justice for him.
He stopped speaking.
Seeing this situation, the other three clan heads also stopped pleading for the criminal.
To plead for that criminal any further would be putting themselves in the criminal's shoes, wouldn't it?
That would be truly ridiculous.
The father of the tall brat saw that none of the four clan heads were speaking up for his son anymore.
He felt extremely helpless in his heart. Who in the village could resist the Uchiha Clan now?
But for the sake of his child, he couldn't help but say, "The current heavy sentence is different from previous penalties. It does not follow the regulations."
Ryōsuke sneered and said, "Did you think regulations never change? Ordinances are not immutable."
"Moreover, I want to announce two things to everyone present right now."
"The first is that from now on, regarding such incidents of bullying children, as long as it is verified, we will arrest every single one involved. They will all be thrown into prison. We will not let them off lightly just because they are children."
"For orphans, we should offer more care, not bullying."
"Does anyone object?"
"Those who object can leave the Leaf Village. My Police Force does not welcome such people."
Hearing his words, no one dared to voice an objection. They even felt he was quite right, though they felt a bit uncomfortable inwardly because the second half of his statement was harsh.
The Uchiha were still the Uchiha, arrogant to the extreme.
The four clan heads also felt there was no problem with his words. Orphans were pitiful enough; if they were also subjected to bullying, that would be too miserable.
It was just that the tone of the second half was too heavy. However, with his current strength, he indeed had the qualification to say such things.
The four of them weren't foolish enough to stand out and resist.
Seeing no objections, Ryōsuke spoke.
"I am very satisfied. It seems everyone has a conscience."
The crowd was helpless; the other party was forcing them to have a conscience.
Actually, normal roughhousing between children seemed fine, but this time was just an extreme case.
On the periphery of the crowd, a woman wearing nun's vestments and glasses looked at Uchiha Ryōsuke with a sparkling gaze.
This man actually sympathized with orphans. Perhaps she could approach him for some sponsorship.
The Uchiha Clan had a great family business; supporting an orphanage would be more than easy for them.
This person was Yakushi Nonō. Previously, she had completed a mission given to her by Danzō, and Danzō had naturally sent over a month's worth of funding for the orphanage.
Now the funds had bottomed out, and Danzō had been executed. She could only look for other avenues to solicit sponsorship, but she hadn't been able to secure any.
The children in the orphanage often went hungry now. Thinking of this situation, she felt it was necessary to have a serious talk with him.
At this moment, Uchiha Ryōsuke spoke again.
"I have one more thing to announce today. That is the true identity of the so-called Demon Fox you talk about."
"His true identity is the son of the Fourth Hokage."
The people around widened their eyes one by one, all wearing expressions of disbelief.
"How is that possible? The child we despise is actually the son of the Fourth Hokage?"
"If that's really true, what have we been doing all these years?"
"If it weren't for the Fourth Hokage saving us back then, we would have all died long ago."
Those who had witnessed the Nine-Tails Rampage naturally understood how critical the situation was at that time.
That monster was practically invincible within the Leaf Village until the Fourth Hokage arrived and saved the village.
In the end, the Fourth Hokage also died in battle.
The four clan heads were dumbfounded, their eyes full of astonishment.
Naruto was actually the Fourth Hokage's son.
Akimichi Chōza asked hurriedly, "Is this true? Is there any proof?"
Ryōsuke said slowly, "Surname Uzumaki, blond hair. Can you find a second person like that?"
Akimichi Chōza suddenly realized. Namikaze Minato had blond hair—the name of the Yellow Flash of the Ninja World came from that—and Uzumaki Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, nicknamed Uzumaki.
Thinking about it this way, it all made sense.
So, didn't this child inherit Namikaze Minato's blond hair and Uzumaki Kushina's surname, Uzumaki?
Thinking of this, his heart suddenly cleared.
Namikaze Minato was a true civilian genius; even they, as clan heads, could not compare to him at all.
They had nothing but admiration for such a person. It was a pity he died in the Nine-Tails Rampage to protect the village. It was truly regrettable.
Nara Shikaku asked with an even more incredulous look, "Could it be that the Nine-Tails was also sealed inside Naruto by them?"
The Uzumaki Clan specialized in sealing jutsu, and Minato also excelled in sealing jutsu, presumably learned from Kushina.
Ryōsuke was a little surprised. The other party could even guess this.
"Nara Clan Head, you are indeed smart. That is exactly the case."
"I hope everyone stops spreading rumors in the future. Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage, not some Demon Fox."
"My Uchiha Clan cannot stand by and watch his only descendant be bullied by villagers like this. If anyone bullies Naruto again, the Uchiha Clan will punish them severely without mercy."
The Nara Clan Head smiled bitterly. How smart was he?
If he were truly smart, he should have guessed it long ago from that blond hair and the Uzumaki surname.
He certainly admired the Fourth Hokage greatly, so naturally, he would take good care of their son.
Naruto must have suffered a lot.
He hadn't expected the Uchiha Clan to respect the Fourth Hokage so much as well; this surprised him a little.
He also understood why the other party was standing up for Naruto so strongly.
He hadn't expected that their families couldn't even compare to the Uchiha Clan in this regard.
It was truly shameful.
He immediately said, "If anyone dares to trouble Naruto in the future, that is troubling our Ino-Shika-Chō trio."
Akimichi and Yamanaka both looked the same way. As the child of the hero, the Fourth Hokage, to be treated like this made them feel ashamed.
They fully supported Shikaku's statement.
The Inuzuka Clan Head expressed the same sentiment. He naturally admired the Fourth Hokage who had contributed so much to the village.