Neji Hyūga

**Neji Hyūga** was a member of Konohagakure's Hyūga Clan. Though a prodigy even by the Hyūga standards, Neji was a member of one of the clan's Branch houses; no matter how skilled he may become, he would always be in the serivce of the Hyūga's Main House, a fact that convinced him fate is predetermined.

## Physical Appearance

Neji is a lean-built and tall young man with long, dark brown hair that reaches down to the lower portion of his back, which ends in a loose ponytail. Like the rest of his clan, he had very fair skin and possesses the renowned Byakugan with a slight tint of lavender to it, which when activated, stimulates the veins and arteries immediately around his eyes to protrude more prominently.

For attire, Neji wears traditional Hyūga-like robes: a white shirt with loose sleeves, closed on the right shoulder, with a fastener running down the right part of the chest, matching pants, with a dark navy grey apron tied around his waist and black, ankle-high shinobi sandals. This may or may not have been to facilitate easier execution of his techniques, or to symbolize his warming relations with his clan. Neji usually carried a large, tan and black drawstring bag, which he carries over his shoulder.

## Personality

Neji was a kind child who was prone to smiling; on Hinata's third birthday, he confided to his father that he thought she was cute. He lost these qualities after his father's death, growing serious and cold, more mature than most his age. For years he was driven by a fatalistic belief that his and everyone else's fates were determined from birth and were inescapable. He perceived his own destiny as being that of a rare talent, causing him to arrogantly place himself above those he believes are "weaker" than himself. He also perceived that his talents would always be handicapped by mandatory servitude to the Hyūga's main house, which he resented and it fuelled his animosity towards the main house and its members.

Neji shared his philosophy about fate with those he met, gladly telling them when they are straying from the paths that have been set out for them by, for example, trying to exceed their natural limitations or trying to defeat him in combat when they lack any obvious ability to do so. When he shared his philosophy with Hinata, she concluded that his insistence upon destiny was actually a sore spot for him that caused him inner suffering: he so badly wanted to prove himself to the main house yet feels incapable of doing so. Neji attempted to kill her in anger for her words. Naruto Uzumaki also disagreed with Neji, claiming that Neji was not realising his destiny because he was in fact holding himself back. Neji initially scoffed at Naruto's suggestion, but he was forced to reevaluate when Naruto, a "failure", defeats him, a "genius", in a fight.

From his experience with Naruto, and from learning that his father was not forced to die, Neji decided that fate is not inescapable but that, rather, one's destiny is what one makes of it; he felt indebted to Naruto for releasing him from his prior "darkness". The destiny Neji ended up selecting for himself was to become strong enough to never lose again. In pursuit of this goal he trained with his team-mates, whose own dreams he became supportive of, and later with members of the main house, whom he gradually started mending relations with. This interaction with others caused him to become kind once again, and over time his desire to get stronger became as much a motivation to never lose as it is to protect his friends and family. In particular, he embraced his responsibility as a member of a branch house to keep Hinata safe, showing greater concern for her than anyone else in combat situations and, ultimately, giving his life to save hers.

Birds were often used to characterise Neji's philosophy and growth: while he felt bound by destiny and the cursed seal on his forehead, he described his personal experiences as being like a caged bird; after being defeated by Naruto, he observed to his father's memory how many birds there were freely flying in the world; when trying to overcome the limitations of his Byakugan, he observed birds at a distance but could never spot the one at his blind-spot; after his death, the Allied Shinobi Forces took on a bird formation in his memory.

## Abilities

### Dōjutsu

**Byakugan**: As a Hyūga, Neji possessed the Byakugan, a dōjutsu kekkei genkai which granted him near-360° vision, along with x-ray vision, and the ability to see chakra networks, amongst other things. The Byakugan however, does have a small blind spot located at the third upper thoracic vertebrae - a weakness of which Neji was actually aware of and took extra precaution in concealing it from opponents. While the Byakugan naturally has an immediate 50 metre field of vision when activated, Neji was able to increase its range several times that by the start of Part II in *Naruto*, to at least 800 meters. He was also noted to have a particularly strong Byakugan in comparison to the other members of the Hyūga clan.

### Other Abilities

**Taijutsu Master**: As a member of the Hyūga clan, Neji specialised in close-range taijutsu combat. In battle, Neji has shown tremendous agility and dexterity, capable of simultaneously dodging and striking an opponent with no wasted movement. His attacks are fast and fluid, precisely striking in rapid succession to leave very little time for his opponent to find an opening to counter.

* **Gentle Fist**: With the Byakugan, Neji could see individuals' chakra pathway systems and the 361 tenketsu that run along it. Using the Hyūga's signature Gentle Fist fighting style, he could attack an opponent's chakra system directly, constricting or cutting off their chakra flow from only minimal contact. Because the chakra pathway system is closely intertwined with many of the body's major organs, debilitating and even fatal damage can be done just as easily.
* **Enhanced Speed and Reflexes**:
* **Enhanced Durability**:

**Child Genius**: As stated by Tsunade, Neji had excellent instincts, both on the battlefield and as a leader. When forced to make difficult decisions on missions, he showed himself able to make a decision through keen observation and analysis. His observational skills were quite advanced, being able to deduce the workings of the Hyūga clan's secret techniques and use them effectively despite being forbidden to learn them as a member of the branch house, further exemplifying his status as a genius.

**Great Chakra Power**: Even though he is a member of the Hyūga Clan's Branch House, Neji boasts strong chakra equivalent to that of the members from the Hyūga's Main House.