Kenji and Naoto gifts is so compatible with each other. I mean Kenji and Naoto could grind their level together and once their level gap got too high, Naoto could just steal some of Kenji exp to get closer. Rinse and repeat.
Now, I'm not gay, but this would be 100x better if it was yaoi and removed the Netori. Just have Naoto and Kenji fuck each other after battles, I could imagine it being surprisingly good and popular.