Neji vs. Sasuke: Who Would Win in a Fight & Why?

As you probably know by now, the worlds of Naruto and Boruto have provided us with a series of brilliant fights that became – some of them, at least – trademark moments of the whole show. Now, some of these fights are interesting enough for us to discuss them here, but we are not going to talk about a fight that happened in this article, but about a fight that could’ve happened. Namely, in this article, we are going to talk about a potential battle between Neji Hyūga and Sasuke Uchiha, as you are about to find out who the winner would be.

Sasuke would win in a fight against Neji. In the early days, Neji was more skilled than Sasuke, but at some point, Sasuke surpassed Neji, and most other characters save for Naruto. This means that at his peak, Sasuke would definitely be able to defeat Neji Hyūga in a direct clash. Sasuke simply surpassed Neji in every category, and only a completely reckless Sasuke would lose to Neji in a direct fight.

The rest of this article will further elaborate on the above-given answer, as we will compare Neji Hyūga and Sasuke Uchiha in more detail. Through several categories, you will see who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is, i.e., why Neji Hyūga would, according to our analysis, lose to Sasuke in the end.

Chakra and physical powers

In order to master Gentle Fist, the user must have good control and mastery of the Chakra Circulation System. Thus, Neji was able to release chakra from each of his Chakra Points. Thanks to this, he was able to cut chakra-based substances and even prevent projectiles. Continually maintaining this chakra ejection allows him to detect anything entering his immediate area, but this quickly depletes his chakra reserves, as seen during the battle against Kidōmaru. He was also able to control his chakra points in such a way that he could release chakra from any pore in his body and even from all of his chakra points at the same time.

Sasuke possesses large amounts of Chakra, being able to perform a strong Fire Release technique at a young age. In the second part, his Chakra levels increased tremendously, summoning a giant snake-like Manda and using Chidori multiple times in a single day, a big change considering that he could only perform it twice a day before.

As far as this category is concerned, Sasuke definitely wins this one. Neji also has a fair amount of chakra as a member of the Hyūga Clan, but this is not enough to surpass Sasuke’s level.

Points: Neji 0, Sasuke 1

Ninjutsu

Neji Hyūga was a quick and nimble shinobi who was capable of evading an opponent’s assaults while hitting fluidly and consistently without giving them a chance to respond. With merely a touch of the user’s fingers, the Gentle Fist of the Hyūga Clan, a fighting technique based on the Byakugan, can harm the opponent’s internal chakra system or organs. Due to his intelligence, brutal potential, and capacity for an easy deduction, Neji, a member of the Secondary Branch, was able to learn the most effective Hyūga methods and even create new ones based on the principles of the Gentle Fist.

Sasuke demonstrates his great skill in controlling fire jutsu, which is common in the Uchiha Clan. At the age of 7, he had already mastered the complicated Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique and possibly the Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. He later invented the Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique, even for such a feat which, according to him, Genin normally requires much more experience and chakra developing elemental fire techniques.

And while the Gentle Fist is technically not a ninjutsu, it still has more to do with Neji’s shinobi skills than anything else. But, even with it, Neji is not as strong as Sasuke in this category, either.

Points: Neji 0, Sasuke 2

Dōjutsu

Because he was part of the Hyūga Clan, Neji possessed his Clan’s Kekkei Genkai: the Byakugan. A dōjutsu that enabled him to see through solid objects and increase the range of his vision. Initially, he was 50 meters; in the second part, he increased it to at least a half-mile radius. The Dōjutsu also allowed him to have a telescopic vision, focusing on a specific point, to see the Chakra Circulation System of all the bodies and the Chakra Points with precision. Despite his great use of his Dōjutsu since childhood, he did not use to have it activated constantly until the moment he began to fight, deactivating it on occasions that resulted in him being hit or captured when he could have foreseen it.

With the basic Sharingan, he managed to save himself from Itachi’s Tsukuyomi to dialogue with the Fox in Naruto’s mind and to subdue the king of gods. Manda snakes. With the hypnotic Sharingan, he was able to immobilize Killer Bee, some samurai, and Shi, as well as create an illusion similar to his brother’s technique with which he distracted Danzo. After obtaining the Rinnegan, Sasuke’s ability in genjutsu increases to the point of subduing all nine hunters with a single glance. Like all Uchiha, he has a natural predisposition for the fire-type chakra, learning the supreme fireball technique at the age of seven, and later also learns how to use the lightning-type chakra, learning from Kakashi the Chidori and creating numerous variations.

If Sasuke remained on just one Dōjutsu, we would have divided the points here, but Neji only has the Byakugan, whereas Sasuke had the Sharingan and the Rinnegan, so we had to give Sasuke this point as well.

Points: Neji 0, Sasuke 3

Taijutsu

As a member of Team Guy and part of the Hyūga Clan, Neji was an expert in Taijutsu, which allowed him to use the Gentle Fist, but in case he didn’t want or need to use chakra, Neji could fight hand-to-hand with ease. Thanks to the vision that the Byakugan gave him, coupled with his intrinsic speed and agility, Neji was able to evade and counter many attacks coming from almost all directions, such as when he fought Naruto’s clones or the spiders and projectiles of Kidōmaru; however, an exaggerated amount could cause many to enter his blind spot.

Although not his favorite style of combat, Sasuke’s taijutsu skills were quite high from the very beginning of the series. This was first demonstrated in the rattles test with Kakashi, who was so surprised that he couldn’t even read the Icha Icha paradise while he was fending off the attacks. After mastering the training in the trees, he engaged Haku in a taijutsu match, easily outpacing him and blocking his attacks, forcing the masked man to make use of the ice crystals. His abilities drastically improved after his first encounter with Rock Lee.

Initially, Neji’s Taijutsu was on a greater level than Sasuke’s. Still, with time, especially after his loss to Rock Lee, Sasuke elevated his Taijutsu skills and became a truly powerful practitioner and that is why he gets this point.

Points: Neji 0, Sasuke 4

Rock Lee vs. Sasuke Uchiha: Who would win?

Had we written this when Naruto first began airing, Neji would definitely have won against Sasuke because Sasuke was quite inexperienced and not as strong as he is now. Neji has always been a very powerful shinobi, and it makes sense that his skills initially surpassed Sasuke’s. But, over time, Sasuke has honed his skills, thereby clearly surpassing Neji’s powers and abilities. Sure, Neji himself has gotten better since then, but Sasuke’s level is simply above his, and that is what the points confirmed as well, and that is why we have Sasuke as the winner here.