Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Shimura Danzo (Shimura Danzō; 团藏) 35 98
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Shimura Clan; Root 98 214
Occupation/Role	Hokage advisor, Konoha elder, Root commander, and Shimura Clan head 98 214 289
Ambition	To become the Fifth Hokage 210 305
Status	Deceased; killed by Uchiha Gen. Konoha initially treats him as missing 308 310
First Appearance	Mentioned in Orochimaru’s assessment of Konoha’s leadership; directly appears confronting Hiruzen 27 34

Background / History

Opposition to the Uchiha

Danzo opposes the Uchiha Clan’s attempts to establish ties with influential Konoha shinobi. He confronts Hiruzen over Orochimaru’s relationship with Uchiha Gen, interpreting it as evidence of the clan’s ambitions. Hiruzen rejects his demands and argues that pushing away a clan seeking closer relations would create unnecessary trouble 34.

During the war against Kirigakure, Danzo intends to use the Mist battlefield to weaken Konoha’s major clans. The deaths of the Uchiha and Hyuga clan heads, alongside casualties among other clan leaders, leave him privately satisfied that his objective has been exceeded 35.

Retirement and the Nine-Tails Attack

After Minato becomes the Fourth Hokage, Hiruzen forces Danzo into retirement and temporarily assumes responsibility for Root. Danzo nevertheless retains effective control of the organization. The loss of village funding strains Root’s finances and affects Orochimaru’s research; Danzo urges him to accelerate their Wood Release experiments 75.

When the Nine-Tails attacks Konoha, Danzo learns that Sharingan markings appeared in its eyes. He orders Fugaku to keep the Military Police Force away from the beast and gathers Root without immediately deploying it. His plan is to intervene after Hiruzen and Minato have weakened the Nine-Tails, claim decisive credit, and recover his offices 98.

Gen challenges the legitimacy of Danzo’s orders, and the Uchiha eventually enter the battle. Danzo responds with anger and demands frequent battlefield reports, but Minato’s removal of the Nine-Tails from the village deprives him of the opportunity he was waiting for 99 100 103.

Return to Influence

Danzo seeks Homura’s assistance in regaining authority after Minato’s death. Confronted by Hiruzen, he admits that he withheld Root to earn greater merit later. Homura and Koharu intercede, and Hiruzen grants him another chance because Konoha needs personnel and someone to handle covert affairs 109.

He then proposes moving the Uchiha compound to the village outskirts, using the Sharingan connection to the attack as justification. Hiruzen rebukes the proposal. Even after learning that the attacker possessed both Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release—making an outsider more plausible—Danzo refuses to clear the clan completely 109 110.

Danzo also sends Yakushi Nonō to infiltrate Iwagakure and attempts to recruit an orphan into Root. Orochimaru intervenes to take Kabuto under his supervision, with Danzo accepting the arrangement because Orochimaru is his research partner and a suitable medical instructor 123 124 125.

Struggle for the Hokage Position

As discussion of a Fifth Hokage begins, Danzo abandons support for Orochimaru and pursues the position himself. He and Hiruzen agree to remove Orochimaru’s eligibility without provoking his defection. Their conversation also reveals Danzo’s role in the campaign against Hatake Sakumo: he went beyond weakening Sakumo’s reputation by having the shinobi Sakumo rescued publicly condemn him 210.

Danzo exploits Orochimaru’s possession of Impure World Reincarnation to accuse him of stealing the technique and potentially murdering its guard. Root finds no evidence establishing the murder, but the theft and suspicion provide enough political leverage to end Orochimaru’s candidacy 211.

Gen retaliates by robbing Danzo’s personal vault and Root’s treasury. Danzo unsuccessfully accuses Orochimaru, borrows emergency funds from the Shimura Clan, and faces Hiruzen’s threat to expose his illegal activities unless he abandons his Hokage ambitions. His resentment subsequently leads him to consider assassinating Hiruzen 213 214 215.

Escalation Against Gen

After Fugaku’s death and the emergence of a new Uchiha Mangekyō wielder, Danzo proposes exploiting the clan’s grief and pride to provoke unrest. Hiruzen rejects the plan and orders him to prioritize stability 226.

Danzo later places an underworld bounty on Gen and directs hunters toward Orochimaru’s base. When Gen opens Military Police Force recruitment to outsiders, Danzo offers to have Root intimidate selected applicants in exchange for additional funding 243 254.

The resulting dispute forces Danzo to apologize, compensate Gen, and provide Root’s account book and personnel list. Hiruzen threatens indefinite suspension and Root’s complete merger into Anbu if he refuses responsibility; Danzo accepts a settlement rather than lose his organization. Gen obtains Fū Yamanaka and Torune Aburame through the agreement 258 259.

Danzo continues covert political maneuvering. He opens negotiations with the Cloud delegation concerning its interest in the Byakugan, proposes manipulating Itachi and Shisui, and raises the possibility of killing the delegation to provoke war. He later approaches both young Uchiha with unusually friendly suggestions that they could become Hokage 261 267 285.

Gourd Valley Ambush and Death

Gen exploits Danzo’s fixation on the Hokage position by controlling the Land of Fire’s feudal lord and arranging an invitation implying support for his candidacy. Danzo notices the sudden change in attitude but accepts it as a potential political bargain. He conceals the journey from Hiruzen and leaves Konoha with three guards 305.

Tracked by Gen’s Soul Reapers, the party enters Gourd Valley and is trapped inside a barrier. Fuguki, Kisame, and Jūzō attack in Mist Anbu uniforms. Kisame floods the valley, giving the attackers an environmental advantage and progressively isolating Danzo from his guards 305 306.

Danzo reveals his hidden Sharingan, summons the Dream Eater, attempts a curse-binding trap, and uses Reverse Four Symbols Sealing. The attackers’ foreknowledge defeats each measure. Izanagi restores him after the sealing attempt, but consumes his Sharingan; realizing his secrets have been exposed, he begins suspecting even Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu 307.

Gen appears disguised as Hiruzen, interrupts Danzo’s renewed sealing attempt, and helps restrain him. After humiliating and torturing him with genjutsu, Gen extracts his soul and lifespan with the Soul-Soul Fruit, killing him 308.

Aftermath

Hiruzen sends Root and Anbu to investigate Danzo’s disappearance, but the false mission record and manipulated explanation from the feudal lord prevent them from uncovering the assassination. Gen publicly offers assistance while proposing that Root lose its special structure and become a genuine secondary Anbu training department 310.

Many Konoha clans support restructuring Root and put little genuine effort into finding Danzo, fearing that his return would undo the opportunity to dismantle his influence 311.

Appearance

• Face: Stern, fierce, and visibly aged 109 261.
• Right eye: Normally covered with bandages, concealing a Three-Tomoe Sharingan 261 307.
• Mobility aid: Uses a cane when visiting the Hokage’s office 138.
• Hidden seal: Carries the Reverse Four Symbols Seal inside his body 307.

Personality

Danzo presents coercive actions as service to Konoha, but repeatedly allows personal ambition to override immediate village needs. During the Nine-Tails attack, he deliberately waits for a politically advantageous moment rather than deploying Root at once. His ambition to become Hokage becomes so consuming that an unexpected offer of the feudal lord’s support draws him out despite his suspicions 98 109 305.

His hostility toward the Uchiha combines prejudice, resentment, and fear of their growing power. He treats Gen’s independence as insolence and resists acknowledging his superior strength because he considers age, seniority, and office more important 100 138 258.

Danzo is ruthless toward subordinates but not indiscriminately wasteful. He orders guards to sacrifice themselves when his survival is at stake, yet does not routinely execute operatives for failed missions because elite recruitment and training are expensive 211 306.

His confidence deteriorates when force or superior intelligence defeats his political defenses. Kushina’s Tailed Beast Ball makes him back down, while the Gourd Valley attackers’ knowledge of his secret techniques drives him into suspicion of his oldest allies 207 307.

Abilities & Skills

Wind Release

• Uses Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves against coordinated Water Release attacks 307.
• Employs powerful wind techniques throughout the Gourd Valley battle 307.
• Combines Wind Release with his summoning beast’s suction, although enemies exploit that airflow to drive flames into the summon 307.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan

• Conceals a Sharingan in his right eye beneath bandages 307.
• Trains extensively with the eye; his proficiency is described as comparable to Kakashi’s and that of Uchiha Three-Tomoe Jonin 307.
• Uses it to improve his ability to withstand Fuguki, Kisame, and Jūzō’s coordinated assault, though it cannot reverse the battle 307.

Izanagi

• Rewrites the outcome of his failed Reverse Four Symbols Sealing attempt, allowing him to reappear alive 307.
• Sacrifices the Sharingan’s power; the eye turns gray-white afterward 307.
• Does not restore his tactical advantage, as the attackers anticipate his return 307.

Sealing Techniques

• Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal: Sets a concealed restraint trap during combat. Gen’s intelligence allows the attackers to avoid it 307.
• Reverse Four Symbols Sealing: Releases blood and expands a black spherical seal from his body to take nearby enemies with him. Its expansion is too slow to catch opponents who retreat immediately 307.
• His final attempt to use Reverse Four Symbols Sealing is interrupted by Gen 308.

Summoning: Dream Eater

• Summons a massive Dream Eater whose size neutralizes Kisame’s Great Shark Bullet attack 307.
• The summon is forced to retreat after swallowing coordinated fire attacks carried by wind 307.

Intelligence and Political Operations

• Commands Root’s spies, investigators, and elite operatives; his network includes personnel stationed on the front lines 123 138 211.
• Uses institutional authority, accusations, intimidation, and underworld bounties against political opponents 210 211 243 254.
• Attempts to weaken Gen’s support by cultivating Itachi and Shisui as alternative Uchiha leaders 267 285.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Cane — carried during visits to Hiruzen’s office 138.
• Right-eye bandages — conceal his Sharingan until he reveals it in battle 307.
• Personal estate and vault — stores substantial private funds; robbed by Gen 213 214.
• Root account book and personnel list — surrendered for Gen’s review during the compensation settlement 258.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Longtime companion, political patron, and rival. Hiruzen repeatedly forgives or restrains him; Danzo eventually considers assassinating him 109 214 215.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu — Decades-long friends who help him recover authority, but also pressure him to accept responsibility when Gen demands redress 109 258.
• Orochimaru — Research partner and former Root deputy. Danzo betrays him to eliminate his Hokage candidacy, then wrongly suspects him of the treasury thefts 75 125 211 214.
• Uchiha Gen — Principal political adversary and eventual killer. Their conflict escalates from disputes over authority to covert attacks, financial retaliation, and assassination 99 213 243 308.
• Kushina Uzumaki — Opponent after his attempt to recruit Anna and Karin into Root without Hokage approval. Her threat of overwhelming force compels him to back down 204 207.
• Yakushi Nonō — Former Root operative sent back into espionage in Iwagakure 124 125.
• Shisui and Itachi Uchiha — Targets of his attempt to divide the Uchiha leadership. Both report his overtures to Gen and follow Gen’s instruction to appear receptive 267 285.
• Fuguki, Kisame, and Jūzō — Gen’s assassination team, whose preparation neutralizes Danzo’s hidden techniques at Gourd Valley 305 307.
• Root operatives — Highly conditioned subordinates whose obedience gives Danzo covert power; he treats their lives as expendable in his final battle 204 306.

Notable Quotes

“Hiruzen, you'll regret this!” 34

“I wanted to lead my men out at the most critical moment and render great service, so that the Fourth Hokage would restore my position afterward.” 109

“Who is the traitor hiding within Konoha?” 307