One of the most powerful characters in the entire Naruto series is probably Hashirama Senju. His strength and abilities are at a whole new level. He possesses a unique Kekkei Genkai and has access to a vast arsenal of techniques. All his feats put him way above any normal shinobi, and he became known as the God of Shinobi.
Despite rising to almost a god-like pedestal in the shinobi world, audiences couldn’t watch his actual abilities and powers. The Deep Forest Emergence and the iconic True Several Thousand Arms were a few prominent techniques in the show. Albeit, this wasn’t even ten per cent of his real abilities.
The Transformed Buddha or the Gracious Deity Gates are the marvels of Hashirama’s Wood Style. However, what exactly is the Wood Release, and how did it lead Hashirama Senju to become one of the most outstanding individuals to ever exist in the series?
What is the Wood Release in Naruto?
This technique has always been closely linked to the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Wood Release is a combination of Earth Release and Water Release. It is basically a Nature Transformation Kekkei Genkai. Other than Hashirama or anyone with his cells inside their body, this isn’t naturally occurring in anyone else.
Now, there are exceptions in the series, such as the Ten-Tails, whose proper form is the God Tree. Wood Release was convenient, versatile, and extremely powerful, leading many individuals to try to recreate this.
How strong is Hashirama Senju’s Wood Release?
Wood Release, in a nutshell, means the user can manipulate the power of wood. However, when we talk about it in a broader spectrum, things get interesting. The user can spawn trees of various sizes and shapes.
Hashirama himself used this technique to grow a forest, which was basically the foundation of Konohagakure. A Wood Release user can also control the durability and form of the wood being produced. This can be useful in several instances.
Other than Hashirama, we saw Yamato sprouting wooden structures such as cages or entire houses in the series. He could produce intricate constructs, which were helpful during his mission with Team 7.
Wood Release can also absorb someone’s Chakra, and Hashirama depicted this by controlling a Tailed Beast. He was one of the few people who could tame the gargantuan power of a Tailed Beast. Users can dope a target with their Wood Release. As soon as the element makes contact with the target, the User can manipulate the chakra. Or, there might be instances when it drains them of life energy until they’re too weak even to stand.
Hashirama combined Senjutsu with his Wood Release, which allowed him to do wonders. He created the massive wooden statue bearing uncountable arms, which he was capable of controlling completely.
The Valley of End was formed because of this structure’s rampage. He can create clones by using the Wood Clone Technique. This is quite efficient and stealthy, as he can spawn a living duplicate of himself. From his behavior to all the techniques he knows, the clone is capable of doing everything.