Neji vs. Sasuke: Who Would Win & Why?
Fights in Naruto were the most significant events in the series, and some of the most epic events happened in the form of massive battles. When Naruto was still airing, fans couldn’t wait for the epic showdowns between the characters, and from Naruto Part One, we really got some great battles. Chūnin Exams brought us great matchups in Part One, but one match between two prodigies – Uchiha Sasuke against Hyuuga Neji never happened. We will try to “run it back” and revisit this potential fight between Uchiha and Hyuuga and determine who would win and why.
Sasuke would win the most fights against Neji. At the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Neji and Sasuke were powerful. Still, the Uchiha had access to Mangekyo Sharingan and Eternal Mangekyo and Susanoo, a spectral warrior that acts on his behalf. Neji would defeat Sasuke in taijutsu and give Sasuke a tough fight, but Neji’s lack of progression and ultimate death stopped him from showing us what he could truly do.
We will discuss this fight in great detail, explain each category and conclude which shinobi is stronger. Moreover, we will use Neji and Sasuke’s strengths from Fourth Shinobi World War since Neji dies in the Naruto series and compare them equally. Of course, the best-of-seven metric will be used for the score, and whoever gets to four points first will win the fight. If you are interested, stay with us until the end.
Taijutsu
Hand-on-hand combat is always important when rating shinobi skills. Especially the members of the Hyuuga clan, who are specialized in this particular ninja art.
From his youth, Neji was considered a prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, and his talent could be seen in Part One of the Naruto series. His clan’s Gentle Fist technique made him a formidable opponent to any shinobi and combined with the ability of Byakugan, Neji was really powerful.
Besides his already-established skill in taijutsu, Neji was a member of Team Guy, where Rock Lee and Might Guy are considered masters of taijutsu. Vigorous and hard training made Neji even sharper in taijutsu, and besides Gentle Fist, he mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, among other jutsu.
On the other side, we have Sasuke, who is also formidable in taijutsu but isn’t on par with the Hyuuga prodigy. Yes, Sasuke could wield swords and other weapons and use them efficiently in combat, but Neji’s prowess in his clan’s main ninja art is what gives him points in this section.
We start this “battle” with Neji’s point.
Sasuke )0) : (1) Neji
Ninjutsu
This section is interesting since ninjutsu mostly “deals” with anything that is not genjutsu or taijutsu. In other words, a shinobi uses chakra and hand seals to cast it and uses the nature transformation technique to “shape” and control the form of ninjutsu.
The most notable examples are Kakashi’s Raikiri, Naruto’s Rasengan, and, consequently, Sasuke’s Fire Ball jutsu with Chidori he learned from his sensei. Of course, other forms of ninjutsu include summoning jutsu, space-time jutsu, medical jutsu, and more, making this section Sasuke’s in most ways.
We already mentioned that Neji had mastered his clan’s ninjutsu and secret martial arts from a very early age. Still, besides the already mentioned jutsu, Kishimoto never showed Neji in the series that he could use something that is separate from taijutsu. Of course, that seems unfair towards his character because he passes in the Fourth Shinobi World War, but that doesn’t erase the fact that Hyuuga mostly relies on their taijutsu and dōjutsu.
Uchiha was always more skillful in pure ninjutsu, which includes the Shadow Clone Technique, summoning jutsu, and the potential of Mangekyo Sharingan and its space-time jutsu. Of course, that’s without saying anything about Fire Ball jutsu and Chidori that Sasuke learned from Kakashi.
With that being said, Sasuke definitely takes the point in this section because he showed a lot more in this ninja art than probably most of the characters in the Naruto series. Point for Sasuke.
Sasuke (1) : (1) Neji
Dōjutsu
This section will be really hard to judge because we are “pitting” two legendary dōjutsu against each other, specifically, two of three dōjutsu that are considered Three Great Visual Jutsu or Three Great Eye Techniques.
The origins of Byakugan and Sharingan stem from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and her lineage, and over thousands of years, members of clans that “carry” this dōjutsu are descendants of the ancient Ōtsutsuki clan.
In this case, Neji’s Byakugan was prolific from a young age, which made him probably the strongest ninja among Konoha 11 in Naruto Part One. With his special eyes, Neji had a nearly 360 degrees field of vision. Moreover, Neji could see other shinobi chakra pathway systems and, with that, all 361 tenketsu that stretches along them. Because of Byakugan, only their bearers could release chakra from any part of the tenketsu, hence the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven jutsu.
In Naruto Shippuden, Neji developed his Byakugan to cover “more ground,” His eyesight radius stretched to almost one kilometer. Sasuke’s Sharingan was always powerful, but it got even better after his brother Itachi died when he awakened Mangekyo Sharingan.
However, the extended usage of the dōjutsu exhausted Sasuke at rapid speeds and made him lose his eyesight. Noticing that Tobi helped Sasuke transfer Itachi’s Sharingan, Sasuke suddenly had the Eternal Sharingan, which is even more potent than the original version.
Jutsu like Amaterasu, Kagutsuchi, and Susanoo became even more powerful with Eternal Sharingan, which made Sasuke better with his chakra reserves control, and simultaneously, one of the most powerful ninjas in the world. Now, Sasuke received Rinnegan after Neji died, so it would be unfair to compare the powerful dōjutsu he acquired after receiving Sage of Six Paths Chakra.
Nevertheless, Sasuke’s Eternal Sharingan is powerful in its own right, so the Uchiha gets the point in this section.
Sasuke (2) : (1) Neji
Intelligence
This section is always crucial in battles: tactics, strategy, and other ways to overwhelm the opponent end fights in most situations. In the case of Neji, being a prodigy of the Hyuuga clan and having top grades in Academy helped him a lot during battles. Chūnin Exams showed how Team Guy and its members always had the upper hand, especially in Forest of the Death.
Neji’s intelligence transferred to the battlefield, and his observation skills were always on par with the best shinobi in Konohagakure. However, his focus is lacking when he is arrogant and mad at someone, which happens during his fight against Naruto in Chūnin Exams.
Nevertheless, we barely saw Neji in Naruto Shippuden to honestly know how powerful and observant he is in the battle, but the Part One of the series gives Neji the benefit of the doubt – he was probably the strongest and smartest member of Konoha 11 as that point.
In the case of Sasuke, his intelligence is on par with Neji, if not more impressive. He was always observant during fights, which stemmed from his Academy days, but experience on battlefields from his young age gave Sasuke an edge over most of his opponents.
When Fourth Shinobi World War started, Sasuke immediately showed his intelligence, which impressed Minato and Madara Uchiha. However, since we never truly saw Neji’s potential in this section, knowing that he was the smartest and most skillful member of Konoha 11 in Part One, we assume that his prowess on battlefields got better. His observation skills with Byakugan’s ability made him even more intelligent. For that, we will split points in this section.
Sasuke (3) : (2) Neji
Durability
As intelligence, durability is also an indicator of shinobi power. These shinobi rely massively on chakra, but whether Neji and Sasuke can continue the fight even if they have chakra depletion is where the durability category of this “battle” counts.
Neji relies a lot on chakra and his Byakugan, which is normal, knowing that his Gentle Fist taijutsu style is his primary way of fighting. Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven jutsu and other Gentle Fist-based jutsu exhaust a lot of chakra from the bearer. We saw during the Naruto series that Neji struggled with chakra reserves, but Part II of Naruto suggests he got better in that section.
Because Kishimoto didn’t necessarily put focus on Neji’s character during Part II, where we barely saw him fighting (except himself during Kazekage Rescue Mission), Neji’s durability isn’t as good as Sasuke’s
The Uchiha’s struggles with Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal and his Sharingan prove this notion, but when Tobi implanted Sasuke with Itachi’s Sharingan, young Uchiha got marginally better with his chakra reserves. Of course, the fact that he used Susanoo, Amaterasu, Chidori, and Fire Ball jutsu that exceeded a lot of chakra without “dying of exhaustion” gives him the edge over Neji.
This section goes to Sasuke and, ultimately, decides the winner.
Sasuke (4) : (2) Neji
Sasuke vs. Neji: who wins?
After thorough research, we got to say that Uchiha Sasuke will win most of the fights against Neji Hyuuga. One of the biggest factors is Sasuke’s prowess with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and ninjutsu, which he skillfully used before joining the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Unfortunately for Neji, his intelligence and taijutsu wouldn’t be enough in the fight against Sasuke. Since we don’t know the full extent of Byakugan powers, this comparison is still questionable, but in this context, it makes sense that Sasuke can do more with his dōjutsu.
Neji had the misfortune of not being able to showcase his true power in the Naruto series because of the writer’s focus elsewhere and his ultimate death in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Neji’s genius is showcased well in Part One of the series, but apart from that, Hyuuga didn’t do anything significant in Naruto Shippuden.