Wood Release

is a nature transformation kekkei genkai, a combination of Earth and Water Release.Naruto chapter 316, page 6 It was famously used by Hashirama Senju, and in fact is not known to have naturally occurred in anyone else, with the exception of the Ten-Tails, whose true form is the God Tree, leading to it being regarded as impossible to use without having his cells.Boruto episode 159 Because of Wood Release's power and versatility, there have been various efforts to reproduce it after Hashirama's death. Wood Release techniques are commonly affiliated with the Snake hand seal.
== Usage ==
At its simplest, Wood Release allows the user to create wood, essentially converting their chakra into a source of life. At its greatest, mighty trees of various size and shape can be created. The vegetation can sprout from the user's body or grow from the surroundings;Naruto chapter 120, pages 6-7 Hashirama created a forest that served as a foundation for Konohagakure, contributing to his selection as First Hokage.Tō no Sho, page 279 Wooden constructs can also be created, ranging in complexity from cages to complete houses.Naruto chapter 286, pages 12-13Naruto chapter 287, page 14 It is not necessary that the created wood take any identifiable form, allowing users to focus on its inherent pliability to ensnare targetsNaruto chapter 494, page 15 or its durability for brute force attacks.Naruto chapter 302, page 7
Wood Release can produce very detailed, ornate constructs. Wood Release: Transformation essentially creates a costume around the user, allowing them to convincingly pass as another person.Naruto chapter 287, page 16 By using senjutsu, Hashirama could create a gigantic, many-armed wooden statue that he fully controlled; its barrage of punches were chiefly responsible for the Valley of the End's formation.Naruto chapter 626, pages 4-9 Wood Release's most versatile application is the Wood Clone Technique, which makes a fully-functional duplicate of the user that is indistinguishable from the original and is even capable of performing other jutsu.Naruto chapter 577, page 13
The Wood Release was also equally famous for its power to manipulate, suppress, and/or absorb a target's chakra, Hashirama's mastery of this ability earning him recognition as one of the few people able to fully control a tailed beast.Naruto chapter 458, page 3 This would be done by ensnaring a target with the Wood Release and upon such physical contact would then control the chakra until they were finally too weak to escape.Naruto chapter 609, page 2 Hashirama's usage of this skill let him subdue many of the tailed beasts, keeping them under his control and allowed him to distribute several to the early hidden villages.Naruto chapter 648, page 11
== Users ==
Hashirama possessed Wood Release naturally, with it being documented Hashirama alone as mastering Wood Release ninjutsu.Naruto: Shippūden episode 351 None of his descendants are known to have inherited his Wood Release, nor is he known to have inherited Wood Release from anyone; in the anime, his ancestor, Asura Ōtsutsuki, could perform Wood Release.Naruto: Shippūden episode 468 Because of Wood Release's sheer usefulness, there have been various efforts to replicate it. In the anime, Konoha sanctioned several of these attempts, but all met with disastrous failure and further study was forbidden.Naruto: Shippūden episode 351 Part of the difficulty lies in the vitality of Hashirama's cells, which can overwhelm and potentially kill those who try to use them.Naruto chapter 480, page 10
Decades after Hashirama died, Orochimaru exhumed his body and infused sixty child test subjects with cells harvested from the remains in the hopes that one would prove able to use Wood Release. Only Yamato survived the process.Naruto chapter 291, pages 15-16 Yamato became Hashirama's genetic double and thus could use Wood Release, but his version pales in comparison to Hashirama's. Most notably, he relies on the aid of Hashirama's necklace to suppress jinchūriki,Naruto chapter 297, pages 8-9 something that is difficult for him otherwise.Naruto chapter 455, page 12
Orochimaru also developed a method of infusing Hashirama's cells into part of a subject's body in order to grant them Wood Release. One such infusion was given to Danzō Shimura, applied to his specialised right arm.Naruto chapter 700+7, page 14 Danzō's Wood Release is quite taxing to perform and crude in function, for which reason he avoids using it directly;Naruto chapter 478, page 11-12 he more often uses Hashirama's cells to prolong the use of his implanted Sharingan.Naruto chapter 479, page 5 Kabuto Yakushi later furthers Orochimaru's research, enabling him to apply a graft of Hashirama's cells to Madara Uchiha's reincarnated body.Naruto chapter 575, page 14 Madara's Wood Release is much more extensive than Danzō's, being similar in scale and power to Hashirama's.Naruto chapter 561, pages 12-14 In both Danzō's and Madara's cases, a replica of Hashirama's face grows on their body.
While he was alive, Madara acquired a sample of Hashirama's flesh. He initially applied it to himself in order to heal the injuries he received from Hashirama. Decades later, after acquiring the Rinnegan, Madara combined the flesh sample with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to produce a mindless clone of Hashirama.Naruto chapter 606, pages 13-14 From this clone he could harvest a substance capable of replacing lost limbs,Naruto chapter 602, page 13 giving recipients, such as Obito Uchiha, limited Wood Release abilities.Naruto chapter 614, page 7 Madara used this same substance to make the White Zetsu Army, rendering each Zetsu an application of Wood Release.Naruto chapter 545, page 3 Orochimaru, by taking over one of these White Zetsu,Naruto chapter 618, page 15 finally gains Wood Release for himself.Jin no Sho, page 72
Moegi Kazamatsuri is able to use Wood Release in adulthood,Boruto volume 4, Moegi's profile but it's not known how.
Presumably due to being the incarnations of a Ten-Tails, Jura could use Wood Release, with his jutsu being identified as from the group of sentient God Trees,Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 9, page 9 implying the four of them have access to the nature transformation.
== Trivia ==
* is a real-life ninja art where the user climbs a tree and camouflages themselves within the foliage.
* Hashirama possessed a Regeneration Ability, which passively healed all of his injuries.Naruto chapter 576, page 15 The ability itself was not Wood Release and it has never been stated to be part of his kekkei genkai, but efforts to reproduce his Wood Release also reproduce this Regeneration Ability.Jin no Sho, page 165 In addition, people with Hashirama's genetic tissue transplanted also no longer required any food or water to survive. However, it is also unknown if this trait is related or if Hashirama himself was also endowed with the latter. 
** Also, it is unknown if Naruto gained this self-sustenance capacity or the Wood Release from his own artificial arm of Hashirama' genes. However, against Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki, Naruto erected a wall seemingly from a root of a God Tree to protect Boruto.Boruto episode 65
* In the anime, Hashirama left behind a scroll detailing his various Wood Release techniques. Danzō later obtained this scroll and gave it to Yamato in the hopes that he would one day refine his Wood Release to Hashirama's level.Naruto: Shippūden episode 355
* In Akatsuki Hiden, earth and water natures are also components in Mud Release. Because Wood Release is so much more famous, few people have ever heard of Mud Release.
* In the novelisation of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Katasuke uses Wood Release through his Shinobi Gauntlet. His Wood Release is in turn absorbed by Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki.
== References ==
Category:Chakra Natures
ca:Element Fusta
cs:Mokuton
da:Mokuton
de:Mokuton
es:Elemento Madera
fr:Mokuton
he:שחרור עץ
hu:Fa elem
id:Elemen Kayu
it:Arte del Legno
ka:ხის გამოშვება
ms:Elemen Kayu
pl:Uwolnienie Drewna
pt-br:Estilo Madeira
ro:Lemn
ru:Стихия Дерева
tr:Tahta Tipi
uk:Древовияв