Gossip was human instinct.
As word spread beyond the arena, everyone grew curious. The Hyuga Clan was famous, and the Main Family's little princess actually had someone she liked. Who was the lucky fellow?
"Oh?"
Everyone caught Neji Hyuga's pointed implication and followed his gaze.
Luo Mang instantly became the center of attention. He smiled, nodded in acknowledgment, then spoke.
"That girl does seem to have been staying beside him all along."
Looking at a question with the answer already in mind offered an entirely different perspective. They immediately noticed plenty of clues. Hinata seemed to have been beside Luo Mang from the very beginning.
They really did look like a couple.
"But why haven't we heard of the Hyuga Clan heiress's sweetheart before?"
They had certainly heard of the Hyuga Clan.
Yet looking at Luo Mang, they couldn't place him.
The Jonin and Ninja from other villages also studied him curiously. He didn't look like someone with any special Kekkei Genkai.
"Could he be the descendant of some powerful figure?"
The Hyuga Clan didn't marry outside the clan. They kept their marriages internal to preserve the Byakugan.
Anyone who could make them break that rule had to be extraordinarily powerful. If they had to guess, perhaps someone like Konoha's future successor could warrant such an exception.
But they couldn't see anything special about him.
Just because some people didn't know him didn't mean no one did.
Choji Akimichi knew him. That didn't mean no one knew him-Choji Akimichi did, and he gossiped while munching on potato chips.
"So, does Hinata like Luo Mang?"
"Are you stupid? Too busy eating, huh? It's so obvious, and you still can't tell?"
Ino Yamanaka combed through the hair Sakura Haruno had messed up during their fight, rolling her eyes prettily as she scoffed.