Faced with Sasuke's outburst, Fugaku and Itachi's faces were filled with confusion and concern. They were worried about Sasuke's health, wondering if he had been injured in the battle earlier, which was why he was talking nonsense like this.
Seeing the deep confusion on his father's and older brother's faces, Sasuke became even more distraught; he simply couldn't understand what had happened.
His voice trembled.
"Father, Nissan, have you... really forgotten?"
Sasuke seemed to be trying to detect something amiss on his father's and older brother's faces, but their expressions made it clear that they weren't lying to him; they genuinely didn't know who Naruto was.
Sasuke refused to believe it and looked at Mikoto, who was looking at him with a worried expression.
"Mother, don't you remember either? Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, your best friend, Aunt Kushina Uzumaki's child, don't you remember?"
But when faced with Sasuke's words, Mikoto frowned, looking at her child with some worry. She touched his head and only breathed a sigh of relief after finding that he didn't have a fever.
" Sasuke, I had a close friend named Kushina Uzumaki, but she passed away a long time ago, and I've never heard of her having any children. Otherwise, I would definitely have brought that child to our home to take care of."
After hearing Mikoto's words, Sasuke became even more distraught. He covered his ears, not wanting to hear any more, and kept muttering:
"No, it can't be, this can't be true. He's so strong, it's impossible."
Sasuke seemed to have thought of something and rushed frantically toward the location of the strange sphere.
He frantically searched for Naruto, but all he could find was a huge crater created by the Kirin's attack; there was no sign of Naruto whatsoever.
Sasuke broke down in tears. He never imagined that the incredibly powerful guy would disappear from the world because of that strange arm. Yes, Sasuke didn't suspect Naruto; he simply blamed the strange arm. He never thought that even someone as powerful as Naruto couldn't be defeated, and in the end, only mutual destruction remained.
Sasuke didn't think that destroying the strange arm was his achievement. Although his Ninjutsu seemed strong, it wasn't strong enough to destroy Space-Time Ninjutsu. So, he was sure that Naruto must have destroyed the strange space vortex. But he didn't expect the price to be so high.
Even Naruto...
Seeing Sasuke suddenly break down in tears, the group was flustered and didn't know how to comfort Sasuke, nor did they understand why he had suddenly become like this. They simply couldn't figure it out.
No one dared to move forward, and they simply stayed behind him.
Sasuke seemed to have thought of something; he suddenly stood up and rushed outside.
" Sasuke, where are you going?"
But Sasuke didn't respond to them. He couldn't see any pretense on their faces; their expressions were genuine. They truly didn't remember Naruto. In fact, the blankness on their faces showed that they had never seen Naruto before.
Thinking of this, Sasuke felt a pang of heartache. He never imagined that Naruto's choice to protect his family would have such consequences. If he had known earlier, he would never have let Naruto go.
He now wants to confirm his suspicions.
They hurried towards the Hyuga Clan's direction and happened to run into Hinata as she was leaving.
He asked anxiously:
Hinata, have you seen Naruto?
Sasuke carefully observed Hinata's expression, not wanting to miss a single detail. He desperately hoped that these people were conspiring to deceive him, but all he saw on Hinata's face was confusion and bewilderment.
" Sasuke-kun, is this Naruto you're talking about your friend?"
Upon hearing this, Sasuke was struck dumb. He hadn't expected that even Hinata didn't know of Naruto's existence. He was now even more terrified. Just what was that white arm? It could silently alter a person's memories; it was truly terrifying.
No, it's nothing.
Sasuke fled as if his life depended on it. He was now absolutely certain that, apart from himself, no one else in the world knew of Naruto's existence.
But he had no doubt about Naruto's existence. Whenever he thought of the moments he spent with Naruto, they felt so real. He absolutely refused to believe that any of this was fake. That could only mean one thing: those arms were behind it all.
Sasuke went crazy, frantically searching for any proof that Naruto had ever existed. But after a long time, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He had searched for so long, yet he hadn't found a single thing related to Naruto.
Even Naruto's house was empty. After asking around, many people said that the house had been vacant for a long time.
Sasuke's expression was somewhat grim. He had underestimated that strange power; he hadn't expected that thing could erase everything about Naruto.
He angrily pounded the ground.
"Damn it, damn it!"
Sasuke was devastated. Regret, anger, and loneliness overwhelmed him, making him feel incredibly miserable. These powerful negative emotions were like thin silver needles pricking Sasuke's temples, Sasuke felt as if his head was about to explode.
Whether it was his own imagination or not, Sasuke could feel that his memories of Naruto were being erased little by little by a strange force. Realizing this, Sasuke struggled angrily.
He hadn't expected that the strange entity would also erase Naruto from his memories. If that happened, Naruto would be completely gone.
"No, no, oh no!"
Sasuke was gripped by immense fear. The throbbing pain in his head nearly made him faint. His eyelids felt like they were weighed down by lead, making him want to close his eyes and get a good night's sleep.
Sasuke could clearly sense that if he fell asleep like this, those memories of Naruto would definitely disappear completely from his mind. Thinking of this, Sasuke forced himself to stay awake, opened his eyes, and as if worried that he would fall into a deep sleep, he took out a Kunai and stabbed it hard into his thigh.
Blood gushed out instantly, and the immense pain jolted him awake for a moment, but this was quickly followed by an even stronger drowsiness. Sasuke dared not relax his vigilance at all.
" Sasuke, don't sleep. If you sleep, you'll completely forget Naruto."
Sasuke remembered Naruto saying something like, "Death is not the end of a person; forgetting is. If a person is completely forgotten, that is true death."