Board Thread:Theories and Speculation/@comment-25560094-20141110042958/@comment-3568954-20141110064440

there is no reason to believe that Naruto could not use Wood Release. and there is no reason to believe that the introduction of Hashirama's cells would have all of a sudden allowed him to use Wood Release. logically speaking he should have been able to use wood release from the moment he fully awakened Asura's power in him simple reasons 1. the only reason hashirama could use wood release was because he inherited Asura's strong life force. after learning both earth and water release and combining them into a new element he gained wood release. other users who have tried to use wood release could not because it requires a strong life force to use it. the introduction of Hashirama's cells mitigates the use of wood release, allowing said person to atleast use it on some level. 2. being that Naruto is a transmigrant of Asura had he combined Earth and Water release before having hashirama's cells in him. he more than likely would have succeeded in using wood release.

Yes the introduction of Hashirama's cells would likely speed up his mastery of wood release but i am betting you that had he not lost an arm. he may very well have eventually attempted to use wood release and succeeded