Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Danzo Shimura, also rendered Shimura Danzō (团藏) 53 214
Alias(es)	“Pot King,” a narratorial nickname referring to his repeatedly taking the blame for political scandals 70
Gender	Male 53
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Root. Later operates outside Konoha after his removal from office 535 545
Occupation/Role	Root leader; former Hokage Assistant and adviser; Sixth Hokage, subsequently deposed 266 283 535 571
Status	Later appears as a reanimated Allied Forces fighter with his self-awareness completely suppressed 618
Teacher	Second Hokage Tobirama Senju 175 579

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Established high-level combatant	109	Inflicts heavy losses on Cloud ninja. Rather than risk fighting the Third Raikage alone, uses Root intelligence to arrange Orochimaru’s assistance.
Sharingan — loss	427	Loses his Sharingan during Root’s battle against the Uchiha Clan, alongside heavy personnel casualties.
Wood Release in his right arm	495	Wood Release is documented in his arm; its instability requires suppression through Sharingan power.
Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan acquired	503 545	Takes one of Shisui’s eyes after inviting him to Root. Later reveals the transplanted eye and uses its threat to restrict Hiruzen’s fighting style.
Improved Wood Release control	526 530	Studies Wood Release experience obtained from Iwagakure. The first scroll accelerates development of his right arm and reveals a possible path to transplanting Hashirama’s cells.
Direct Hashirama-cell transplantation	534 544	Undergoes surgery involving Hashirama’s cells and additional Sharingan. A clan uprising interrupts the procedure before its suppression seals are finished, but he survives the transplant.
Multiple Sharingan and repeated Izanagi	546	Reveals numerous three-tomoe Sharingan implanted in his right arm, giving him more than ten potential uses of Izanagi. Each use permanently blinds an eye.
Post-transplant recovery	551	Adapts to the changes caused by Hashirama’s cells. Missing arm Sharingan and abandoned replacement eyes complicate his recovery.

Background / History

Tobirama’s Student and Hiruzen’s Rival

Danzo trained alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi under Tobirama Senju. He later fixated on the moment when Tobirama stayed behind to cover their retreat, believing that greater speed and decisiveness on his own part would have secured him the Hokage position instead of Hiruzen 175 579.

His ambition remained active long after Hiruzen became Hokage. Following the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the decline of Hiruzen’s prestige, Danzo directly challenged his former partner for the office 53.

Root Operations and the Land of Rain

Danzo initially supported Akatsuki and other small factions in the Land of Rain to weaken Hanzo. His objective was to force Hanzo to accept his conditions and make the country his vassal—not initially to destroy Akatsuki 53 54.

Root also provoked conflicts between other nations. When Iwagakure arranged to return Sasori to Sunagakure, Danzo sent Root members alongside Anbu to sabotage the exchange and bring Sasori under his control, hoping to monopolize valuable intelligence on Puppet Masters 65.

Danzo later allied with Hanzo against Akatsuki and authorized the operation to capture Konan. During the ensuing battle, both commanders initially let their subordinates probe Nagato’s abilities. Their cooperation broke down when Yichen exposed Hanzo’s poisoning of Root members; Danzo summoned Baku while retreating from Hanzo 103 104 105 106.

Scandals, War, and Root’s Reconstruction

Danzo instigated the White Fang Incident, but defended Hiruzen’s position afterward: if Hiruzen were removed over the scandal, Danzo’s own prospects of becoming Hokage would also collapse. Hiruzen’s public apology and rehabilitation of White Fang left Danzo bearing most of the village’s resentment 70.

During later fighting, the Third Raikage’s surprise attack devastated Danzo’s loyal forces, and Minato’s intervention saved him. To rebuild Root, Danzo abandoned his recent rapprochement with the Uchiha and accepted Hiruzen’s demand that he help suppress the clan. Hiruzen subsequently increased Root’s funding and permitted recruitment of talented children from other ninja clans 175 195 196 220.

Danzo also spread reports of Orochimaru’s human experiments, pushed for his designation as an S-rank rogue ninja, and demanded action against his remaining confidants. He later absorbed some of Orochimaru’s former subordinates into Root 240 318.

Reduced Authority Under Minato and Tsunade

Danzo opposed Minato’s appointment as Fourth Hokage but ultimately backed down. Hiruzen then replaced him as Hokage Assistant, reducing Danzo from Konoha’s second-ranking figure to one of five senior officials; Root remained his principal source of independent influence 251 266.

After the Nine-Tails’ rampage, Danzo accused the Uchiha Clan despite Tsunade’s insistence that the investigation had found no supporting evidence. He also investigated Orochimaru’s interest in the Byakugan, demanded access to Hyuga records, and requested a pair of eyes for transplantation into a subordinate 283 304 305.

Tsunade repeatedly resisted his control over personnel. She sought information about Root’s membership and later helped transfer Shisui from Root to Anbu under Hiruzen’s personal instruction 318 373.

The Seven-Tails and Conflict with the Uchiha

During a battle in the Land of Rain, Danzo and Root elites overwhelmed Kakuzu’s numerical advantage and destroyed two of his hearts. After Yichen devastated Konoha’s army, Danzo led the survivors away and forcibly took the Seven-Tails from an exhausted Kakashi 394 395.

During a subsequent attack on Konoha, he accepted responsibility for confronting the Uchiha while allowing the Seven-Tails jinchuriki, Kō, to support the battle against Rasa. Root suffered severe losses, and Danzo lost his Sharingan. Nevertheless, Tsunade later approved renewed expansion because Root remained the organization most directly committed to fighting the Uchiha 423 427 431.

Public Campaign and the Sixth Hokage

Danzo’s role in the destruction of the Jashin Cult gave him a military success to promote publicly. He began courting officials, delivering speeches, and entering the Ninja Academy without authorization. His public demonstration of Wood Release brought his prestige to a peak 503.

He claimed that Tobirama had intended him to become Third Hokage, temporarily assigning Hiruzen the position so Danzo could concentrate on learning Wood Release. These were Danzo’s claims, not an independently established account of the succession 503.

After taking Shisui’s eye, Danzo feared being made the scapegoat for the impending Uchiha massacre. Through Kajiyamari, he purchased Iwagakure’s assistance and led Root out of Konoha under the pretext of responding to an Iwa invasion. He supplied village techniques and valuable items in exchange, while using a proposed cooperation treaty to increase his political importance 508.

After the massacre, he returned with additional Sharingan and three Uchiha children branded with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal. When Tsunade cut Root’s funding and moved to define its authority, Danzo spread reports that Kakashi had killed four subordinates and that Tsunade had covered for him. Tsunade subsequently stepped down, and Danzo became Sixth Hokage 514 516 571.

Deposition and the Land of Wind Battle

Danzo repeatedly purchased Wood Release experience from Yichen to strengthen himself and prepare for Hashirama-cell transplantation. Konoha’s major clans formed an Anti-Danzo Alliance and monitored his preparations. They attacked Root during his surgery, forcing him to abandon most of his subordinates and escape through a secret passage 526 530 531 534.

Hiruzen intercepted him outside Konoha. Danzo was removed from office and left the village weakened, while Kakashi became Seventh Hokage. From the Land of Wind, Danzo continued trading with Yichen, exchanging the Four Red Yang Formation for further Wood Release manuals 535 537.

Konoha later attacked his branch base. Danzo deployed reanimated White Fang and Ryosuke, employed Kakuzu to delay Mist forces, and fought Hiruzen and Kakashi using his transplanted Sharingan, Wood Release, and repeated Izanagi 545 546.

When Root members failed to intervene on his behalf, Danzo killed every member present through the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. He escaped through his forest sea, leaving Root with little beyond intelligence personnel hidden abroad 547.

Renewed Assault and Reanimation

Kakashi’s later reorganization dismantled the network Danzo had spent a year building. Danzo sought military assistance from Yichen, who refused direct intervention but negotiated to provide four reanimated bodies in exchange for intelligence and the Impure World Reincarnation technique. Danzo also intended to exploit Sasuke’s doubts about the Uchiha massacre 571.

During the renewed assault on Konoha, Danzo fought Hiruzen in a restrained duel resembling their childhood sparring. He initially withheld both Wood Release and Sharingan techniques, while Hiruzen maintained the upper hand 579 583.

In a later Allied Forces battle, Danzo appears as a reanimated fighter whose self-awareness has been completely suppressed 618.

Appearance

• Aged face: Explicitly contrasted with Hiruzen’s youthful likeness on Hokage Rock 579.
• One visible eye in earlier appearances: Described narrowing his “one eye” during discussions with Hiruzen 65.
• Cane: Strikes it against the floor during a high-level meeting 283.
• Modified right arm: Contains Wood Release and later numerous implanted three-tomoe Sharingan 530 546.
• Transplanted right eye: Holds Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan in his later battles 547.

Personality

Danzo is persistent, politically perceptive, and driven by an enduring conviction that he should lead Konoha. He treats the Hokage position as both a personal entitlement and the means to restore Konoha’s dominance and unify the ninja world. Yichen acknowledges the insight behind his early Land of Rain strategy, even while exploiting his ambitions 53 54 500.

His willingness to take risks is selective. He avoids a potentially lethal solo confrontation with the Third Raikage, chooses the Uchiha assignment over fighting the Kazekage, and repeatedly abandons subordinates when escape becomes possible. Personnel, village secrets, and foreign partnerships are expendable when they serve his own position 109 423 508 534.

His attachment to Hiruzen complicates their rivalry. Despite decades of resentment, he declines to use Kotoamatsukami on Hiruzen because doing so would spoil their future interactions. Under severe pressure, however, his possessiveness becomes destructive: he interprets Root’s nonintervention as betrayal and kills his remaining followers 545 547.

Abilities & Skills

Wind Release

• His principal elemental specialty, contrasted with Hiruzen’s use of multiple chakra natures 579.
• Uses elemental ninjutsu alongside close combat during their duel 579.

Summoning: Baku

• Summons an enormous Baku by biting his finger and forming hand seals 106.
• Baku launches a Wind Release attack to intercept Hanzo during Danzo’s retreat 106.
• Weaker than Enma, but capable of occupying him briefly 545.

Wood Release and Transplanted Cells

• Uses Wood Release contained in his modified right arm and later survives direct transplantation of Hashirama’s cells 530 544.
• Studies Madara-derived experience scrolls purchased from Iwagakure to improve control and development 530 531.
• Creates a forest sea large enough to conceal his movements and enable escape 547.
• Requires careful balancing with Sharingan power; lost or exhausted implanted eyes can worsen his physical condition 495 551.

Sharingan and Kotoamatsukami

• Sharingan assistance produces a qualitative improvement in his close-combat ability 545.
• Possesses Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan and its Kotoamatsukami ability. Yichen warns Iwagakure’s leadership not to make eye contact with him 547.
• Threatens Hiruzen with the eye without actually using Kotoamatsukami on him, forcing Hiruzen to avert his gaze 545.
• Breaks Kurenai’s genjutsu and attempts to reflect it back 546.

Izanagi

• Converts otherwise fatal outcomes into survivable ones by expending implanted Sharingan 546.
• His right arm provides more than ten potential “lives,” but each activation permanently blinds one eye 546.
• Cannot perceive the outside world during the interval between disappearance and reappearance. Kakashi and allied clan ninja exploit that opening with successive coordinated attacks 546.

Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal

• Uses the seal to control ninja; breaking its hold is a central concern of the Anti-Danzo Alliance 526 534.
• Activates it lethally against all Root members present at his Land of Wind branch battle 547.

Impure World Reincarnation

• Controls reanimated White Fang and Ryosuke as defenders of his branch base 545.
• Possesses the technique and offers it as part of negotiations for additional reanimated combatants 571.

Intelligence and Political Manipulation

• Maintains Root’s domestic and foreign intelligence networks, using advance warning to arrange reinforcements and covert negotiations 65 109 488.
• Uses rumor campaigns against White Fang, Orochimaru, Kakashi, and Tsunade 70 240 508 514.
• Recruits war orphans, clan children, and former Orochimaru followers to build an independent power base 220 318.
• Personally guides Sasuke’s training, helping him outpace other children of his generation 530.

Equipment / Items

• Cane — carried during official meetings 283.
• White Zetsu specimens — acquired from Yichen for research; part of a clone’s body is transplanted into Danzo 496 526.
• Wood Release experience scrolls — repeatedly purchased from Iwagakure to develop his arm and prepare for further transplantation 526 530 531 537.
• Reserve Sharingan — maintained at Root for replacement, but left behind during his hurried escape from Konoha 551.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — childhood training partner, close friend, and lifelong political rival. Their cooperation repeatedly preserves Danzo’s influence, while Hiruzen’s protection also enables his abuses 53 196 547 579.
• Tobirama Senju — teacher and the central figure in Danzo’s regrets about missing the Hokage succession 175.
• Yichen — transactional foreign ally. Yichen sells him research material and supports his survival chiefly to keep Konoha divided 344 508 547 571.
• Kajiyamari — intermediary for secret negotiations with Iwagakure, including Danzo’s withdrawal before the Uchiha massacre 488 508.
• Tsunade — political opponent who contests his accusations, limits Root, and attempts to assert Hokage control over its personnel 283 318 514.
• Orochimaru — research partner and occasional battlefield ally. Danzo later helps drive him out of Konoha and absorbs some of his followers 109 240 304 318.
• Hanzo — initially a ruler Danzo seeks to weaken, later an ally against Akatsuki. Their partnership collapses over Hanzo’s poisoning of Root members 53 105 106.
• Shisui Uchiha — former Root member whose eye Danzo steals for its Mangekyō ability 373 503.
• Itachi Uchiha — Root member whom Danzo considers insufficiently trustworthy 458.
• Sasuke Uchiha — personally instructed by Danzo; later viewed as a possible avenue for undermining Kakashi through doubts about the massacre 530 571.
• Kakashi Hatake — a talent Danzo repeatedly seeks to control, then his successor and military opponent 357 395 535 546.
• Shikaku Nara — organizer of the clan opposition that attacks Root and brings down Danzo’s administration 531 534.
• Kō — trusted envoy and later Seven-Tails jinchuriki. Danzo considers him replaceable when authorizing his deployment against Rasa 195 196 423.
• Bing — Root elite jonin used to contact Orochimaru and carry sensitive requests 175 304.

Notable Quotes

“If I had been quicker and more decisive than Hiruzen Sarutobi back then, I should be the Hokage now. If I were Hokage, Konoha would not be like this.”
— Danzo’s thoughts on Tobirama’s final retreat 175

“All traitors deserve to die! I am the Hokage! I am the Sixth Hokage! I am the greatest Hokage!”
— After killing the Root members who did not intervene for him 547