The Hachimon or eight gates are located along the spine, the heart and in the ninja's head. It is possible to force the body to open these gates, which allows the ninja to release ten times the usual amount of power. Unfortunately such power comes at a price, as each subsequent gate is opened, the ninja increases the damage to their body and comes closer to death. For this reason gate opening has been deemed Kinjutsu. If all eight gates are opened, the ninja gains power that surpasses the Hokage at the cost of their own life. Also even if the ninja opens fewer gates, if they do not strike a finishing blow against their opponent, they will be severely weakened and very defenseless to a counter attack. It is also unclear whether the ninja has to open all the gates in order, of if they can open a later gate and bypass the previous ones.