Board Thread:Rebirth: Applications/@comment-1875854-20141001230515/@comment-4961229-20141014030318

The way I see it is Surging Stages is not clearly defined to begin with. You compare it to both 8-gates and Lightning Release Armor, among other jutsu.

Raiton Armor works very differently than 8-gates. It electrically stimulates the user's nervous system and speeds up the synapses, reflexes, and neural pathways. So it's basically supercharging the conduction speed of Raikage's nerves, allowing him to think and react much faster. It acts on the physical body itself.

8-gates removes the limits that the brain places on the body and the chakra network. Most of its power comes from the way it removes limits from the chakra network or subtle body, allowing more chakra to flow through the pathway system.

It's easy to see where these two techniques meet because they are clearly defined. If you open the flood gates and drastically boost the chakra flowing through the network and at the same supercharge the actual neural pathways of the body you've going to get a much greater effect.

Surging Stages already meets the 8-gates at the first stage. They both do the same thing, i.e. remove the limits the brain puts on the body. Although, Surging Stages is clearly superior here as you define it as giving the user "100% control over his brain, allowing him to remove his body's restrictions on its powers." That sounds very flexible whereas 8-gates just throws that gate wide open.

However, you have not really defined how Surging States forcibly ups the user's power level beyond the first stage. Since these techniques already meet at the first gate, it just looks like you're opening more gates.

Since Raiton armor is a parent jutsu, couldn't you focus on how Surging Stages is an improvement on Raiton Armor? In other words how it's progressively affecting the physical body or nervous system, not the chakra network? Once you do that you could more readily state how the Surging Stages and 8-gates function together.

At least that's my take on it.