This is a topic that probably should have happened a long time ago, but we lacked any cannon evidence to formulate a proper response anyway, So perhaps it’s only natural that this discussion were to happen now, only weeks after the Manga gave us the best possible example of this happening, and the results of such.
The particular event that I am referring to is when two chakra absorption techniques come into contact with one another.
In my opinion, this is something the community has tiptoed around for a long time, with how unsure people are of what exactly would happen when an event like this occured. In the past, I have generally requested that the two cancel one another out, that way we don’t have to go into very detailed longistics of technique mechanics. Obviously there was a degree of common sense when observing this; Like if a single droplet of Kirisame touched a preta path barrier, it wouldn’t result in cancellation, because Preta path was obviously far stronger than that one droplet.
Much to my surprise, in the most recent chapter of Boruto (chapter 21; page 39/40), my general assumption was confirmed when two techniques produced by the newly introduced ninja tool technology clashed, resulting in complete cancellation of both. This was a great leap in our understanding of technique mechanics, because the only previous example we could draw from was when Hashirama used Wood Dragon to bind Madara, and stop him from using preta path. The glaring issue with this was within the technique’s ability as a whole. The Wood Dragon jutsu has the preexisting feature of negating other chakra absorption techniques. This, in my opinion, is the only reason it was able to stop the preta path. Mind you, this is a feature that the Dragon already had, pre Rinnegan introduction, because Hashirama was using this technique well before Madara attained the Rinnegan, considering he didn’t unlock it until he was already dying of old age. I only mention that to crush the possible idea that Hashirama specifically made the wood dragon to counter that barrier, which may come up in later discussion.
When taking this into consideration, I believe chapter 21 has provided the only viable example we have for this situation, which brings us to the question I’m about to propose:
Does the community agree with my thesis? That when two absorption techniques of similar power clash, they result in complete nullification of one another.
When discussing this with Kamui, he believes the chapter was not a solid enough example to assume this is what happens when all chakra absorption techniques come into contact, but I disagree. He made mention that it was likely an isolated incident, only occurring because the two techniques used were identical.
As a community, we have accepted more with less evidence. Such as the summation that Rinnegan was obtained because of the merging of Senju and Uchiha cells, which was debunked later, yet still applied within the mechanics of our game for ease of access. With the increased number of chakra eating abilities within SL, it only makes sense that we should use this prominent example as impromptu law to avoid conflict in the future. I assert that this is a fine outcome, and can be applied in multiple situations without any greif, only leaving the question of technique quality to be determined on a case by case basis.
I welcome someone to challenge this assertion.