7 Naruto Ninja Who Can Beat Hashirama’s Deadly Wood Release
Hashirama Senju stands out as one of the rare Naruto figures treated like a “god” among shinobi, largely because his raw strength and technique level are off the charts. He mastered Wood Release, a notoriously rare Kekkei Genkai that can overwhelm a fully powered Tailed Beast by itself. Even so, while some ninjas regard Wood Release as essentially unstoppable, there are still a handful of characters who can shut down Hashirama’s signature style.
Wood Release is built to pin opponents in place while draining their chakra, and Hashirama can also generate enormous wooden formations with serious destructive potential. The Naruto characters who can counter Hashirama’s Wood Release are all Kage-level or higher, with the tools to either destroy his techniques outright or slip past his reach. A few can even neutralize his most impressive wooden maneuvers by breaking them down completely, including disintegration-style outcomes.
From Six Paths Sage Mode to the Rinnegan, there are several Naruto abilities that outclass Hashirama’s Wood Release.
7 Onoki Can Erase Hashirama’s Wood Release With Dust Release
Onoki spent decades as the Third Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village, and that long run of battlefield experience shaped him into one of the most dangerous ninja in history. He knows Earth Release well, but that alone doesn’t solve the problem of Hashirama’s Wood Release. The key is that Onoki is among the few people alive who can use Dust Release—an extremely uncommon Kekkei Tota with the power to destroy Wood Release instantly.
Using Dust Release, Onoki channels chakra through his hands to form three-dimensional objects, then launches them at a target. Those projectiles move at startling speed and instantly expand upon impact. Anything caught inside the expanded area is broken down at the molecular level. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Onoki used Dust Release to vaporize Madara’s Wood Release. Even if Hashirama’s Wood techniques are a touch stronger than Madara’s, Onoki would still be able to disintegrate any wooden jutsu Hashirama produces.
6 A, The Third Raikage, Can Blow Past Hashirama’s Wood Release With His Lightning Release Chakra Mode
Even though the Third Raikage has been gone for years, he’s still remembered as the strongest shinobi the Hidden Cloud Village ever produced. He fought with near-superhuman strength, speed, durability, reaction time, and endurance, and Lightning Release Chakra Mode let him amplify all of those traits further. When he enters this state, lightning chakra envelops his body, giving him immunity to most physical attacks.
The Third Raikage managed a fight against a fully unleashed Eight-Tails that ended in a stalemate, and the only injury he suffered was one he accidentally caused himself. He also held an army of 10,000 ninja at bay for three straight days before his death. By focusing lightning chakra into his hand and fingers, he can slice through a Tailed Beast’s body as if it were soft material. That means he wouldn’t just ram through Hashirama’s Wood Release while in Lightning Release Chakra Mode—he could also cut straight through the wood with his own fingers.
Despite being strong enough to compete at the very top, these Naruto characters never became Kage.
5 Obito Can Deal With Wood Release By Using Kamui
After roughly a year of training alongside Madara, Obito reached Kage-level strength, and that period also came with the awakening of his Mangekyo Sharingan. That change granted him access to Kamui, a space-time ninjutsu often treated as one of anime’s best teleportation tools. With his left eye, Obito can use the short-range version to teleport his entire body—or even selected body parts—into the Kamui space.
This variant gives Obito intangibility, meaning physical blows can pass through him without harming him. Thanks to Hashirama cells present in his body, Obito can use Kamui repeatedly without going blind. Hashirama’s Wood Release can restrain someone and siphon their chakra, but it still requires physical contact first. With Kamui, Obito can phase through any Wood Release jutsu Hashirama fires at him.
4 Nagato Can Get Rid Of Wood Release With His Rinnegan
Nagato’s Rinnegan may have originally belonged to Madara, but he still learned to master that god-tier ocular Kekkei Genkai. With those eyes, Nagato can summon different beasts, absorb ninjutsu, interact with souls, and upgrade his body with mechanized armor and weaponry. Through the Deva Path, he can also control the forces of attraction and repulsion.
Hashirama’s Wood Release can wipe out Nagato’s summons without much trouble, and it’s uncertain whether Nagato can absorb Wood Release in particular. That’s because Wood Release is solid and it also absorbs chakra. Still, Nagato can use the Asura Path to blast away wood-based jutsu using ballistic missiles and energy attacks. With the Deva Path, he can repel and shatter Hashirama’s wooden constructs, including a wooden golem and a wooden dragon. After all, Nagato destroyed the entire Leaf Village with a single Almighty Push—so he should have no trouble tearing apart Hashirama’s massive wooden statue just as easily.
3 Minato Can Counter Wood Release With His Incredible Speed
As the Fourth Hokage, Minato is among the strongest shinobi the Hidden Leaf Village has ever produced, and while he was alive he was considered the fastest active ninja. You could argue Minato was the closest anyone got to true light-speed movement, because he learned and improved the Flying Thunder God Technique. That level of mastery was enough to force other nations into “flee on sight” orders whenever their shinobi encountered Minato in the field.
Minato would scatter dozens of kunai across the battlefield, each stamped with the formula for the Flying Thunder God Technique. At any moment, he could instantly teleport to any of those kunai, and he could apply the formula to other surfaces by touching them with his hand. If Hashirama unleashed his full Wood Release toolkit at Minato, Minato could simply teleport away to avoid every attack. And if Minato’s speed is high enough, he can even teleport behind Hashirama and take him down with a surprise strike.
2 Itachi Uchiha Can Stop Hashirama’s Wood Release With Amaterasu And His Susanoo
Hashirama is the only person known to be strong enough to beat the legendary Madara Uchiha in direct combat. He overpowered Madara’s complete Susanoo using a wood golem, and he also handled the Nine-Tails even after it merged with Madara’s Susanoo. Many Naruto fans assume Itachi is weaker than Madara and wouldn’t stand a chance versus Hashirama’s Wood Release, but Itachi’s Susanoo isn’t just strong—it’s described as effectively unbeatable.
Itachi’s Susanoo carried the Totsuka Blade, a spectral sword believed to be capable of cutting through anything. That implies it could slice through any of Hashirama’s Wood Release constructs. It also came with the Yata Mirror, a legendary shield that can reflect attacks. That mirror by itself would be sufficient to neutralize all of Hashirama’s Wood Release techniques. With enough chakra, Itachi could additionally use Amaterasu to burn away any wood Hashirama creates, and Hashirama wouldn’t be able to extinguish the black flames.
Jinchuriki can wield powerful boosts, but plenty of characters reach top-tier status without relying on that kind of power.
1 Kaguya Can Counter Hashirama’s Wood Release By Swapping Dimensions
Like other members of the Otsutsuki Clan, Kaguya operated with god-like abilities that would normally put her in a position to win. Even if Hashirama summoned a wood golem or his titanic wooden statue, Kaguya could use her All-Killing Ash Bones technique to disintegrate them using her protruding bones. Even Hashirama’s extraordinary healing wouldn’t save him if Kaguya landed a direct hit.
Kaguya also wielded the Rinne Sharingan—one of the rarest abilities in the Naruto franchise. It let her use Amenominaka, a space-time ninjutsu that allows her to instantly teleport herself and others to different dimensions. By moving away herself, she can avoid Hashirama’s attacks. If she teleports Hashirama instead, her volcanic dimension can ignite any wood Hashirama generates, while her gravity dimension can either crush his wooden constructs under intense gravity or stop them from growing in the first place.
