Eight Gates

The Eight Gates are eight specific points on a person's Chakra Pathway System. They limit the overall flow of chakra within a person's body. The basis for the idea of the chakra gates comes from the body's limits on the functions within it. This makes the body much weaker, but it keeps the body from expiring too soon. By undergoing intense training, one can learn how to open these gates allowing the user to surpass their own physical limits at the cost of extreme damage to their own body.

Usage
Rock Lee has demonstrated the ability to open the first six gates. Might Guy, who taught Lee the skill, is able to open all eight. Kakashi can open at least one gate, as shown during Kakashi's one-handed rock climbing where a shot of his brain shows the relevant point activating, as well as in his usage of the Front Lotus in the anime. Opening the gates is a difficult feat even for the most talented ninja, and Kakashi was surprised to find out that at that time, a 13-year old Lee could open as many as five of them.

The state of having all Eight Gates open is known as. Any shinobi who activates this state will temporarily gain powers greater than a Kage, but they will die because of the damage done to their body. Due to the immense amount of chakra flooding the body all at once, drastic changes can occur upon the user's body. The most common of these changes are the darkening of the skin, eruption of veins around the temples, the eyes turning completely white. The green aura surrounding the user could be easily mistaken as chakra as in Kisame's case when fighting Guy. Guy corrected this misconception explaining that the green substance surrounding him is his sweat evaporating at a rapid rate, due to the intense rise in body temperature of the user.

Gates

 * 1) The, located in the brain, removes the restraints of the brain on the muscles so 100% of the user's strength can be used whereas normally, a person can only use 20% of their muscles' strength to keep them from disintegrating. Unlocking this gate allows the user to use the Front Lotus.
 * 2) The, located in the brain, forcibly increases the user's physical strength and temporarily re-energises the body.
 * 3) The, located on the spinal cord, allows the user to use the Reverse Lotus. The increased blood flow turns the skin red.
 * 4) The, located on the spinal cord, increases the user's speed and power. May cause muscle tissue to tear on use.
 * 5) The, located in the abdomen, increases the user's speed and power.
 * 6) The, located in the stomach, increases the user's speed and power. Opening of this gate releases such enormous amounts of energy that it can cause nearby water bodies to form a vortex around the user. Once opened, capable users can perform the Morning Peacock.
 * 7) The, located below the stomach, further increases the user's speed and power. Only after this gate is activated, can a capable user perform the Daytime Tiger. Those who open this gate will secrete glowing green — blue in the anime — sweat from every inch of their body which immediately evaporates from their own heat energy, creating an aura which people mistake as a chakra coating. Unfortunately, the side effects of opening the gate are that the user's muscle fibres are ripped to shreds, causing intense pain if anything or anyone touches them.
 * 8) The, located at the heart, will cause the user's blood to emanate a flaming aura of red steam from all pores of their body, hair, and eyebrows. Releasing this gate uses up all of the body's energy, makes the heart pump at maximum power, and exceeds the power of every other gate. Opening this gate grants the user approximately 100 times their normal power, but comes at the expense of the user's life. Once activated, those who are capable can perform the Evening Elephant.

Trivia

 * In Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds, Shinnō managed to use a technique that allowed him to open all eight gates without any drawbacks.
 * In Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3, Neji Hyūga uses a technique called Last Resort: Eight Gates Crumbling Attack to specifically block access to the Eight Gates.
 * In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, when Might Guy activates his sixth gate, he mistakenly says "Eighth Gate of Joy!", instead of "Sixth Gate of Joy!"
 * In several video games, Rock Lee can unlock the seventh gate, despite the fact in the actual storyline, he was only shown capable of unlocking the first six gates that at the time.