When I saw Chouji unconscious infront of that tree I figured he was gonna make it through. He might not be the mostt popular character in the show but he still has some growing up to do. He had just realized how good of friends he was surrounded by and had his first true battle experience on the field. There was no way he was gonna die that easily on a failed mission. The same thing goes for Neji but only he is one of the most anticipated characters as far as growth with his abilities. Hinata is going to improve but she would have not been able to fill in Neji's shoes. I'm not gonna even discuss Kiba.