Great Thread!
I'm a big fan of the Leaf Bloodlines, so I'd like to clear up some misconceptions you guys might have about the Hyuuga's abilities.
First, you cant think of the Hyuuga Bloodline limit as one single ability (i.e. Gentle Fist and Byakugan combined), because it isn't. In actuality, we need to think of the Hyuuga KG as 2 separate bloodline abilities that accent each other and work together. As Kakashi stated in part one during the chuunin exams, "The Byakugan is One of the abilities passed down through the Hyuuga clan." This makes the Hyuuga powers most difficult to steal as simply implanting a byakugan in a non-Hyuuga, like Ao, would not give them the ability to use Gentle Fist or the full range of vision (we can presume due to having only one eye), as was shown by Ao's clear limitations during his fight against Fuu.
Secondly, most of you believe the Sharingan to be suprior to the Byakugan, especially because of the Mangekyo powers. And I agree, eye to eye only, the Magekyo Sharigan is the more powerful dojutsu. However, as I stated in my first point, as far as we know the Hyuuga have 2 kg's, where the Uchiha only have the Sharingan. And if we compare the ability types of the clans, we find that, head to head, the Hyuuga kgs combined actually are a strong counter to the Sharingan. Heres why:
Some forget that one of the basic powers of the Byakugan eye is that it can see through/nullify genjutsu having "greater insight than the Sharingan" as Kakashi stated in part one. In contrast, the Sharingan can pierce genjutsu to an extent, but really excells at using it, and relies on it heavily. Itachi's elegant and deadly illusion skill is self explanatory, as well as Kakashi's Copy ninjutsu which uses genjutsu to help predict and copy. But heres the catch: against a Hyuuga it would all be completely useless. None of Itachi's fancy illusions would even work on Hanabi, a Hyuuga academy student. Even tsukoyomi wouldn't work, since the Byakugan naturally repells genjutsu, therefore nullifying a large part of the Sharigan's power. Even Ao's implanted Byakugan eye was able to break the powerful genjutsu placed on the Fourth Mizukage (presumably by madara) which completely controlled his mind. Izanagi wouldn't work either, beause although it can fool another sharingan, the byakugan's superior insight and range would allow a Hyuuga to keep track of the user's real body by reading the chakra flow through the jutsu (as demonstrated by Hinata vs the Iron Sand jutsu and Neji vs Kidomaru and Raiga's Lightning). Any Uchiha fighting a Hyuuga could only rely on ninjutsu from a distance, since they would also have a taijutsu disadvantage for obvious reasons. As for defending agaisnt the other Mangekyo jutsu, thats where the second bloodline ability comes in: Gentle Fist.
We're quick to think of Amaterasu as an unstoppable jutsu since it can burn through eveything, but it clearly isn't, as it can be dodged (by very few ninja) and easily blocked by a strong defense as Garra demostrated blocking with his sand during the kage summit without much effort. Sand is a good defense, but I think we'd all agree that the Hyuuga's Heavenly Rotation is a much stronger and reliable defense! Surely it would be capable of easily blocking Amaterasu if garra's sand could, as it not only blocks but also repels attacks simultaneously. And even if the Chakra sphere started to burn, the rotation action would still keep the flames far away since fire sticks to the surface of what it burns. Another Sharingan jutsu easily countered!
There are ONLY 2 Sharingan jutsu that would pose a threat to a Hyuuga: Susanoo and Kamui space/time warp, which very few Sharingan users can use. I think my evidence is pretty solid, but I'd like to see what you guys think.
btw, as for how naruto beat neji: he did it by being unpredictabale. yes, Neji could see everything, but watch the episode/chapter closely... neji was cocky and underestimated naruto, never bothering to look through the ground because he already deactivated his Byakugan when he thought he had won.
