I thought I'd post this amusing little analysis that comes from someone on another forum that was posted back in August of '07. It's amazing how relevant it still is. Also, it's good to know we're not the only ones that see the truth.
Neji was Right
You can’t fight destiny and bloodlines do matter. He was right when he told Naruto this during their fight. The only problem with his argument was that he was addressing the wrong guy. If he only knew who's kid he was fighting then.
Against both Hinata and Naruto, Neji rattled off about destiny. How one could not fight their destiny. Your fate is predetermined before you are born. If you came from lowly blood, you were going to be a loser and couldn’t change. If you came from privileged blood, you were going to be a winner and strong.
Neji was bitter because he couldn’t fight his own destiny. Even though he was a member of the privileged and powerful Hyuuga clan, he was also a victim. He was born to the wrong father and into the branch house. He was always going to be second class no matter how talented he was. Seeing a weakling like Hinata be the heir to the clan drove him nuts. Hinata and Hanabi were the chosen ones. Just because of who their father was.
Naruto’s whole point was that you can fight against destiny. He was living proof of that. He was the outcast. The loser. He beat Kiba when no one gave him a chance. He beat Neji from Konoha’s most powerful clan and changed his entire outlook. He even made the golden boy himself, Sasuke Uchiha, envious of his power. If anyone stood against the concept of lineage, fate, and destiny determining how strong you were, it was Naruto. Until chapter 367.
We all knew it was going to happen, but it still is a turning point for the manga. Now the story is not about a knucklehead lowly ninja overcoming the odds to become Hokage. Now it’s more about a young prince inheriting his rightful place as Hokage. Now it’s about the son of the greatest ninja ever to live surpassing his father to even be greater. It was his destiny since birth to become a hero and the most powerful ninja to ever live.
Naruto is not a longshot to become Hokage anymore. He’s a lock. Tsunade and Jiraiya always knew this. They all but said Naruto would take over for Tsuande. And if anything happened to her before Naruto was ready, Kakashi would bridge the gap. No mention of Shikamaru who about 30 chapters ago was mentioned as a candidate. No mention of Tsunade’s own personal student, Sakura. Talk about a stacked deck. Would they be as sure about Naruto if he weren’t the Fourth’s son? If he didn't have the Yellow Flash's genes?
So destiny, nepotism, and lineage do matter in Naruto. Neji was right all along.