So... preliminary thoughts in regards to haki vs chakra.

Be warned that I am inclined to bend the mechanics of the settings for a better fit, so you'll see in this post things that don't match perfectly either canon. ----Though collectively known as haki, it is not one single force with three differe nt manifestations, but rather three different forces each of which originates fr om one of the three aspects found in all living things: kenbunshoku/observation haki (which draws strength from the mental aspects of life), busoshoku/armament haki (which is powered by the corporeal aspects of life) and haoshoku/conqueror' s haki (which represents the spiritual strength of life and despite popular beli ef is found in all things... just in extraordinarily small amounts, except for a vanishingly small number of individuals). Chakra is an intermediate energy state that combines the mental and physical asp ects and which only rarely appears in natural form. The ability to deliberately generate chakra in large amounts by combining energies was the great discovery o f the Sage of the Six Paths, a development unknown to the broader world which ma de possible the rise of the ninja world and its myriad techniques within the rel atively narrow boundaries of the Elemental Countries. Its dual nature makes it m ore flexible than either of its individual components and, ultimately, easier to work with. Sufficiently skilled molders of chakra can thus theoretically develo p techniques that allow them to replicate anything and everything that can be do ne with the base components by altering to the adequate degree the mental/physic al balance of their energy (and much, much more), although this requires deliber ate and conscious action and cannot be sustained nigh-indefinitely in the way ma sters of haki (or individuals strongly attuned to a particular form of haki) do subconsciously. The spiritual aspect, however, is almost as poorly understood among shinobi as i t is in the rest of the world. What the world government calls conqueror's haki, the ninjas call killing intent. Both sides have a somewhat vague understanding of ways in which this can be trained and strengthened, but neither has anything solid beyond the purely intuitive level. In summary: Observation haki = mental energy. Armament haki = corporeal energy. Conqueror's haki = spiritual energy. Chakra = mental + corporeal = observation + armament. With chakra you can theoretically do anything you can do with observation and ar mament haki and then some, however to do so you need to design a technique (for example, the Yamanaka clan techniques mimic the mind-reading aspect of observati on haki) and you need to activate it. However, mastered haki gives you better mi leage and can be used almost automatically. Sage mode enhances mental (super-senses) and corporeal (super-strength) energies , but also requires high spiritual energy to be reached (Jiraiya never mastered Sage mode because his spiritual strength and drive was never quite high enough). Sensor type ninjas (like Karin) are naturally attuned to observation haki, ninj as reputed for their physical capabilities (like Uzumaki, Senju or the Raikage l ine) are naturally attuned to corporeal energy.

Elemental countries have developed some very refined understanding of chakra, bu t have mostly abandoned use of the mental/corporeal components and therefore lac k true masters of haki and the best they can do is somewhat bastardized mimicry through use of chakra techniques. Outside world has masters of haki, but lacks c omprehensive understanding of chakra as a mixed energy and bastardized forms of chakra manipulation can only be found in things such as Rokushiki or the super-t echniques used by high end swordsmen. Also, nature transformation (turning raw chakra into elemental chakra) is someth ing known only to the Elemental Countries and thus jutsu-like techniques are rar e beyond its boundaries (and when one encounters such things, the users don't re ally grasp what they are doing and the broader potentials they could unlock with better understanding of chakra). Examples of these bastardized elemental jutsu include Diable Jambe (which uses Sanji's natural fire nature) and the water mani pulation exercises of Fishman karate (as a result of most fishmen and mermen bei ng water natured). Thoughts? It doesn't quite cover everything, but I think I cover most of the bases.