"Maybe you shouldn't go after all. The other villages are dangerous."
Sakura Haruno caught Luo Mang's arm and spoke softly.
Just as Mirai was trying to find the right words to persuade her, a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.
"You can't go. You absolutely can't go."
That youthful, emotional voice could only belong to Hinata Hyuga. He turned, and sure enough, she was still wearing her training clothes. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, giving her a relaxed, carefree look.
But her expression was anything but carefree or lively. Her face had fallen, and she looked anxious.
"Huh? Hinata, what brings you here?"
Luo Mang frowned slightly, not having expected Hinata Hyuga to come.
Hinata Hyuga's eyes were already growing moist and red. She was clearly about to cry, though he had no idea what she had been imagining.
Girls tended to let their imaginations run wild. Mirai understood that, so he hurried over, pulled her into his arms, and gently comforted her.
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me, Hinata?"
Hinata Hyuga hugged Luo Mang tightly and began to mumble.
"I'm not happy. Father told me you were going to be some exchange student and leave the village for a long time."
"What if the people in those villages attack you?"
"What if something happens to you?"
"If something happens to you, what am I supposed to do?"
She sounded increasingly hurt, her voice growing softer with every word. Like an abandoned kitten, she pleaded with Luo Mang, hoping he would stay.
"Exactly."
Seeing her chance, Sakura Haruno hugged him from the left as well. With a girl clinging to either side, Luo Mang could only hold them both to keep them-or himself-from falling over.
"Don't leave us. What's wrong with staying in Konoha?"
"I