How should I put this... how should I put this...
Nao had said that he would only be unable to remember for the time being. In other words, Hirohiko would eventually remember everything that had happened, and this "for the time being" probably would not last too short a time.
But since Nao had told me not to worry, she must have been confident in her plan. That meant the duration would not be too short either.
At the very least, this genjutsu that altered memories would be stable. During its duration, Hirohiko absolutely would not remember killing Nao.
I just did not know how long that duration would be! How long before Hirohiko remembered...
After all, we were still deep in the enemy's rear. Although we no longer needed to worry about the Kannabi Bridge mission, we still had to escape this dangerous area.
But if Hirohiko remembered what had happened along the way, that would be bad! No one knew how he would react, but no matter what kind of reaction it was, he could not possibly remain normal after personally killing Nao.
Hirohiko and Nao had depended on each other since childhood. It was also because Nao had chosen to care for him that she had been isolated alongside him. Otherwise, as the younger sister of that "regrettable future of the Uchiha Clan," even if the Uchiha Clan was as prejudiced as ever, and even if she possessed no exceptional talent, she probably would not have lived such a hard life.
Given Hirohiko's personality, he probably both loved Nao and felt guilty toward her. Their bond was unquestionably deeper than his bond with us. If he found out that he had killed Nao with his own hands...
I could not even accept Nao's death, let alone him.