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.