Kekkei Genkai are extremely powerful abilities that exist in the Naruto world. Known to be exclusive to certain bloodlines or people, these abilities are incredibly rare. They're also much stronger than the average nature transformations and are highly coveted in the story. Kekkei Genkai were introduced quite early into the story and as the plot progressed, they only became more powerful and more important.
One of the most special Kekkei Genkai to be introduced in the Naruto series is the Wood Release. Only a handful of people in the story have had access to this power and those who did go on to achieve greatness in some way or form. By the end of the series, Wood Release had established itself as arguably the strongest Kekkei Genkai or, at the very least, the most important one in the series.
What Makes Wood Release Special
Wood Release is known to have manifested quite famously within Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of Konoha. Surprisingly, while most Kekkei Genkai that are formed by combining two natures exclusive to certain clans, this one, in particular, was exclusive to just Hashirama. His brother, Tobirama, or his descendants were never seen to wield this ability, which only made it that much more special. Wood Release is a combination of two nature types in Earth and Water Release. By combining the two, the user is able to manifest forests and vegetation with their chakra.
While on the surface, Wood Release doesn't seem all that special, its application is truly monstrous in combat. With it, the user can alter terrains in their favor and switch the tides of the battle within a matter of seconds. It can be used to restrict others and swarm them with giant forests. Perhaps one of its biggest applications is its ability to drain chakra. As seen on several occasions, Wood Release is quite effective at sucking the chakra out of other people. At the same time, It can also control the Tailed Beasts, especially the Nine-Tails, which is known to be the strongest of them all.
Hashirama Senju And Wood Release
Hashirama was truly gifted with the power of the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai. By practicing it, he became so strong that the title of "God of Shinobi" was given to him. In combat, he could match Madara Uchiha with his mighty Sharingan powers and, on occasions, even best him. As a Senju, Hashirama's tremendous chakra meant that he could fight using Wood Release for extended periods of time. In his fights against Madara, he was seen making use of abilities such as the Wood Golem to combat Susanoo.
Furthermore, the defensive prowess offered by this due to was certainly immense as even mighty Tailed Beast Balls weren't enough to defeat him. Furthermore, when combined with Sage Mode, Hashirama's Wood Release skills improved even further. He became powerful enough to take on both Madara and Kurama in combat at the same time. In fact, his might was such that even Madara wanted a piece of his power for himself. In their final battle in the Valley of the End, Madara succeeded in stealing a piece of his flesh and integrating it into his own body to gain access to this power.
Other Users Of Wood Release
While Hashirama is the only known natural user of Wood Release, there are several others in the story who also got their hands on this power in one way or another. Madara Uchiha, Hashirama's rival, attained this power after tearing a piece of flesh from his body and integrating it into his own. His usage of this power was quite close to Hashirama's very own level. Using the Gedo Statue, Madara also created several White Zetsu who were also able to use Wood Release, albeit on a much lower level. At the same time, he also allowed for Obito to use this power by creating half of his destroyed body from White Zetsu cells.
Obito's usage of Wood Release certainly paled in comparison to that of Madara or Hashirama. Nonetheless, it was quite powerful indeed, as seen when he massacred the Mist shinobi all on his own. At the same time, Konoha also tried their best to recreate this power using Hashirama's DNA. This was done in an attempt to better control the Nine Tails. Eventually, a child named Yamato was born with this ability, however, his usage of it was not nearly as impressive. Regardless, it was good enough to control the Nine Tails to a certain extent.
Undoubtedly, the Wood Release is an incredibly powerful Kekkei Genkai and its importance only increased with time in Naruto. As the series continues with its sequel, Boruto, the Kekkei Genkai is just as relevant as ever. In the future, it might come into play in an even more significant manner, and that's something the fans will certainly enjoy.