Board Thread:Theories and Speculation/@comment-32617252-20171101024222/@comment-734582-20171101151456

Vladosaurus wrote: I disagree with SM. You say that the 8 gates are stronger, yet you probably directly think about the 7th and 8th gate. But Sage Mode is pretty much only as strong as the weapons you wield with it. Eight Gates, even in it's most basic form, gives immense levels of speed and power that easily surpass anything we've seen in base Sage Mode.

Sure, Sage Mode can rise to immense levels of power (e.g. Hashirama, Kurama Sage Mode), but it requires immense levels of pre-existing power. On the other hand, if you don't have the tools to make good use of it (say, Shino), Sage Mode is pretty weak. It has a large scaling component, which both ensures it's always relevant yet also ensures you often need a considerable investment in power and jutsu to really get it going. While Eight Gates benefits from jutsu, it doesn't rely on them so heavily.

I'd personally go for either Sage Mode or Byakugo. Being a jinchuriki sounds nice on paper but in reality you'd essentially suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder, except one personality is both far more powerful than you and wants to kill you. Eight Gates requires relentless training to a degree i would never achieve. Choji's butterfly mode seems only useful if you actually have his abilities, and i'd hate a calorie-based power. Vladosaurus wrote: And then you have the 8th gate, where unless you have a Ninja Jesus near you to make you stop dying, well, you die. It's still the most reliable trade-off in the list. In exchange for death you're guaranteed absolute power. Sage Mode doesn't guarantee you that power, Jinchuriki can't guarantee you that power, the Juubi can't guarantee you that power. Eight Gates may have a big price-tag, but considering what it does, it's by far the most reliable to train and the most reliable exchange of power.