Board Thread:Theories and Speculation/@comment-1930928-20200816130234/@comment-4961229-20200817052430

Genosyber wrote: Yes normally I would agree with you, that the tenketsu can just be reopened once closed. However the gentle inject chakra into the chakra pathway system which can not only shut tenketsu, but also damage the surrounding organs. There aren't many who can operate normally after being hit with the gentle fist. As you noticed, closing off tenketsu adjacent to the eight gates could also be an option for shutting down the technique.

As a side bar, am I the only one who doesn't understand why Neji couldn't master the eight gates? I mean after all the chakra pathway system and tenketsu are a Hyūga's bread and butter. I never understood that either. Neji literally should just be able to open and close any tenketsu he wants, including the tenketsu governing the 8 gates, especially since he was literally ogling Rock Lee with his Byakugan during the Gaara fight and Might Guy during the second Kisame fight. That should be all he needs to understand anything he didn't already know about the process.