Presented as a contest between innate talent and persistent hard work, the rivalry between Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga was a core feature of the Chunin Exams Arc in Part I of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto. The seeds for this clash of contrasting ideals were slowly sown at each step of the Chunin Exams, and there was a palpable sense of an impending payoff in the arc's climax.

Unfortunately, all this proved to be for naught, as Lee and Neji were never pitted against one another in the Chunin Exams, and their mutual enmity all but fizzled out. In Part II of Naruto, both characters took on supporting roles and had very few, if any, moments in the spotlight. Considering the layers of thematic significance embedded into this rivalry, why was it never capitalized on?

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The Hyuga's Genius Vs. A Paragon Of Perseverance

During their introductions at the start of the Chunin Exams, Lee and Neji were presented as polar opposites. Where Neji was hailed as the strongest rookie from the previous year's cohort, Rock Lee went largely unnoticed by comparison. To make matters worse, it soon became known that Lee was once mocked by his peers in the Konoha Academy for his inability to use genjutsu and taijutsu.

However, this did not deter him, and he chose to focus all of his efforts on mastering Strong Fist taijutsu, under the guidance of his mentor, Might Guy. Lee's incredible perseverance, consistent efforts, and self-belief saw him blossom into an incredibly powerful ninja for his age by the start of the series. As a result, Lee believed that if he continued to apply himself, he would eventually become strong enough to challenge a natural genius like Neji.

By contrast, Neji displayed an inherent aptitude for the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist taijutsu, and was seen as a generational talent. That being said, he was also disillusioned by the traditional hierarchy of succession in his clan, since he was a member of the Hyuga's branch family which was subservient to the bloodline of the clan's leader, Hiashi Hyuga.

What made this even worse, was the fact that Hiashi was the elder brother of Neji's father, Hizashi Hyuga. Years prior to the start of Naruto, Hizashi had given up his life in an incident known as the "Hyuga Affair," to protect his elder brother. This incident left a huge impact on a young Neji, who resigned himself to the belief that his destiny was decided from the moment he was born, and that he had no agency in shaping his own fate.

A Stage Set By The Chunin Exams

Once their respective ideologies had been outlined, the backdrop of the ongoing Chunin Exams was perhaps the ideal arena for a conflict between Lee and Neji to erupt. Although the Forest of Death placed a great deal of emphasis on teamwork, Team Guy made the interesting choice to split up and seek out the scrolls they needed to progress.

Next, the Preliminaries offered an ideal opportunity for this rivalry to play out in a competitive setting, but alas, this would not be the case since the trajectory of Naruto's plot did not permit it. On one hand, Neji's eventual character arc for the Finals against Naruto would not have been set up if he had not fought Hinata at that stage.

Additionally, Lee's fight against Gaara turned into one of the most iconic battles from the Chunin Exams Arc, delivering a spectacle that kept viewers on the edge of their seats, and erased all notion of an anticipated confrontation between him and Neji. While this was understandable given the path this arc was about to take, what happened afterward was the real cause of disappointment with regard to this rivalry.

How This Rivalry Never Got Its Due

Following the Chunin Exams, the story shifted from focusing on all the newly introduced side characters to being centered on Naruto and Jiraiya's search for Tsunade. Once this was wrapped up, and she took office as the Fifth Hokage, the foundation was laid for the final story arc of Part I, which brought Lee and Neji back into the spotlight, albeit for different reasons.

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Since the Sasuke Recovery Mission's thematic core was the rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke, there was little room for Neji and Lee, apart from their individual battles against Orochimaru's subordinates. When Part II began with the Kazekage Rescue Mission, the focus was firmly on Konoha's forces confronting the threat of the Akatsuki, and internal rivalries within the village took even more of a back seat.

At this point, Neji had become a jonin, whereas Lee was still a chunin. Moreover, Neji's lack of animosity towards Lee at this time, was portrayed as a sign of his changed attitude following his defeat against Naruto in the Chunin Exams Finals. Sadly, this would be a death blow to the once burgeoning rivalry between the two shinobi, as they were relegated to background characters who had little impact on the remainder of the story.

Rock Lee's Strong Fist Vs. Neji Hyuga's Gentle Fist

Beyond their ideological differences, there was also an underlying clash in the fighting styles of Lee and Neji. As a practitioner of Strong Fist taijutsu like his mentor, Rock Lee placed a great deal of emphasis on keeping himself in peak physical condition, to augment his martial arts prowess and allow his body to survive the stress of opening several of the Eight Inner Gates.

Neji's Gentle Fist taijutsu was heavily reliant on his mastery over the Hyuga's signature dojutsu, the Byakugan. Coupled with his immense intellect, Neji's strengths lay in precise, targeted strikes at an opponent's chakra pathways, as opposed to Lee's more forceful and aggressive approach which was centered on pummeling enemies into submission. The fact that Naruto never explored how these two taijutsu styles fared against one another, is but one more problem with how this rivalry was handled.

Even in the absence of a competitive match or a heated quarrel between Neji and Lee, the fact that they were not even shown sparring against one another indicated that their rivalry had taken a back seat to other more important plot points. Even if this was understandable when considering how much Kishimoto had to wrap up, it was still disappointing. Towards the series' end, this was all but confirmed with Neji's untimely death in the Fourth Shinobi World War, which was the final nail in the coffin of this now forgotten rivalry.

Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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Naruto

Animation

Action

Adventure

A popular shonen anime based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga, Naruto follows its eponymous shinobi's journey as he goes from his town's outsider to its hero.

Release Date

October 2, 2002

Studio

Pierrot

Creator

Masashi Kishimoto

Number of Episodes

220

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu , Netflix , YouTube

Watch on Amazon