Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Shimura Danzō (Danzo; 团藏) 50
Alias(es)	Darkness of the Shinobi World 12 117
Gender	Male 50
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Root 50
Occupation/Role	Leader of Root; former Hokage advisor and Konoha elder advisor 50 451
Teacher	Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage 118 309
Status	Alive; stripped of his elder-advisor position. Uchiha Fugaku subsequently receives his former position 451 479
First Appearance	Mentioned through Root’s orders in Chapter 2; directly depicted at Root headquarters in Chapter 50 2 50

Power Progression

These modifications occurred before Yuan discovered their history in Root’s laboratory; their original chapter dates are not given.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Initial Hashirama Cell implantation	312	Used to survive lingering injuries inflicted by Kagami Uchiha’s ocular flames. The cells’ diminishing Yang Release vitality eventually made treatment ineffective.
Reactivated Hashirama Cell treatment	312	Root injected Hashirama Cells into Senju Nawaki’s organs to restore their vitality. Injections of these renewed cells healed Danzo’s injuries but began eroding his body.
Sharingan implants in the right arm	312	After discovering that his transplanted right-eye Sharingan restrained the cells’ erosion, Danzo implanted additional Sharingan into his right arm to maintain suppression.

Background / History

Danzo was one of Senju Tobirama’s six disciples, alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kagami Uchiha, Torifu Akimichi, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu. He believed that the Third Hokage’s position would have been his if he had spoken up first at the decisive moment. After Hiruzen acquired his own Anbu, Danzo established Root and privately regarded the two men as jointly holding the Hokage’s authority 309 449.

Danzo ambushed and killed his former companion Kagami Uchiha, but Kagami’s ocular flames left him with wounds that would not naturally heal. Yuan theorizes that Kagami awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan upon realizing that his trusted companion had betrayed him; the timing of that awakening remains Yuan’s inference 312.

To survive, Danzo turned to Hashirama Cell research. When the original treatment deteriorated, he ordered that Senju Nawaki be targeted and used Nawaki’s organs to revitalize the cells. Root’s experimental records reveal that these treatments healed Danzo while creating a new dependence on Sharingan implants to prevent cellular erosion 312.

Danzo also masterminded the smear campaign and suppression of Hatake Sakumo. He regarded Sakumo’s suicide as the best outcome for someone he accused of endangering Konoha, making Yuan’s public defense of Sakumo a direct challenge to his past actions 50.

Appearance

• Aged face and one exposed eye: His right eye is normally concealed beneath bandages; removing them reveals a crimson three-tomoe Sharingan 53 118.
• Extensive bandaging: Initially associated with his right side, the bandages cover his entire torso after Yuan severs his right arm 249.
• Modified right arm: Contains several transplanted Sharingan used to suppress Hashirama Cells 249.
• Cane: Frequently strikes it against the ground when angry or issuing commands 129 380.
• Konoha forehead protector: Worn during the operation against Akatsuki in the Land of Rain 114.
• Ashen-white body tissue: Much of his body has this appearance when his bandages are removed during treatment after the Flame Demon’s attack 392.

Personality

Danzo presents Root’s secrecy and violence as sacrifices necessary to protect Konoha. He describes the organization as the village’s most important line of defense and claims that he alone can sacrifice everything for it. These convictions accompany coercive recruitment, punishment without evidence, and willingness to disobey release orders from the Hokage 53 183 314.

His hostility toward the Uchiha is explicit: the stronger Yuan becomes, the less Danzo believes he can tolerate him. He treats independent clan power as something to suppress, pressures clans into surrendering members to Root, and dismisses their political opinions because they have previously been unable to refuse his demands 314 354 475.

Danzo’s aggression coexists with caution and a strong instinct for self-preservation. He retreats immediately from Nagato’s summoned statue, uses a Shadow Clone during his ambush on Yuan, and flees Root when the Flame Demon overwhelms its defenses. When an opponent reaches him despite his guards, his confidence can collapse into outright fear 116 187 381 449.

Abilities & Skills

Wind Release

• Vacuum Great Sphere: Fires sharp, high-pressure wind projectiles. Yuan destroys the barrage while protected by a Lightning Release Chakra Cloak 117.
• Vacuum Wave: Produces cutting air currents powerful enough to disperse Yuan’s lightning cloak and wound his arms. Danzo also uses it against a charging close-range attack 117.
• Rotating wind blade: Concentrates rapidly spinning air at his fingertips and launches it at a restrained opponent; Yuan catches and crushes it 118.
• Great Breakthrough: Expels a fierce gust to counter Yuan’s surprise kick, although Yuan kicks the technique apart 310.
• One-handed casting: Maintains a hand seal while fighting and releases Vacuum Wave as Yuan closes in 117.

Transplanted Sharingan

• Right-eye implant: Possesses a deeply developed three-tomoe Sharingan with unusually strong ocular power 118.
• Kagami’s power: Danzo’s thoughts identify Kagami as the source of the power that both injured him and later drove off an enemy 119.
• Sealed black flames: Activates Blaze Release stored in the eye through a Transcription Seal. Yuan identifies powerful Yin Release within the flames, which break his Transformation Technique 118 119.
• Ocular expenditure: Using the flames leaves Danzo feeling a hollow depletion of ocular power 119.
• Cell suppression: The right-eye Sharingan and arm implants restrain the destructive activity of his Hashirama Cells 249 312.

Izanagi

• Fatal-injury reversal: After Yuan splits open his chest, Danzo’s apparent corpse disappears and he returns alive 118.
• Surprise counterattack: Reappears with his tachi in a thrusting posture, inflicting a shallow wound despite Yuan’s evasive reaction 118.
• Nature of the technique: Yuan recognizes it as an Uchiha forbidden technique capable of altering reality after an event has occurred 118.

Hashirama Cell Augmentation

• Injury treatment: Keeps Danzo alive after Kagami’s lingering ocular-flame injuries and later restores his damaged body through renewed cell injections 312.
• Dependence on Sharingan: Losing his implanted right arm removes part of the suppressive system, causing the cells to erode his body. He expends several Sharingan to regain control 249.
• Dangerous rejection: The Flame Demon’s residual chakra clashes with the implanted cells, causing severe cellular death and requiring further injections to keep him alive 392.
• Treatment limits: Root initially seals the foreign chakra rather than removing it. Most of it is eventually expelled 392 410.

Swordsmanship and Tactical Deception

• Tachi combat: Meets Yuan’s fist with his blade and uses the recoil to flip backward onto a tree 117.
• Clone decoy: Places a Shadow Clone in Yuan’s path during the Training Ground 10 ambush, avoiding the initial palm-blade strike 449.
• Layered containment: Directs Root operations combining barriers, nets, poison gas, Water Prison techniques, lightning attacks, and sealing formulas 380 449.
• Delegated techniques: Relies on specialists such as Fū and Torune for sensory support, mind intrusion, insects, and coordinated restraint rather than performing all of these techniques himself 116 117 118.

Intelligence and Institutional Control

• Surveillance: Maintains detailed reports on targets’ movements, associates, and visits to Orochimaru 129.
• Coercive recruitment: Offers Sharingan, promotion, or relief from punishment to obtain recruits and informants 52 53 296.
• Forced memory searches: Orders invasive interrogation of Orochimaru’s associates despite warnings that it can severely damage the brain 183.
• Clan pressure: Repeatedly pressures ninja clans until they surrender targeted members to Root 354.
• Research infrastructure: Uses Root’s concealed laboratories to maintain his body and develop capture measures, including potent poison gas 312 380.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Tachi — Used in direct combat and immediately after Izanagi 117 118.
• Cane — Walking aid and a visible signal when directing Root’s attacks 366 380.
• Bandages — Conceal his right-eye Sharingan and extensive bodily modifications 118 249.
• Transplanted Sharingan — Installed in his right eye and right arm; serve both combat and Hashirama Cell suppression functions 118 249.
• Root laboratory treatments — Hashirama Cell injections and sealing procedures sustain him through otherwise life-threatening deterioration 312 392.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Fellow disciple and political partner. Danzo considers himself Konoha’s dark counterpart to Hiruzen, but the Hokage can reject his demands, remove his advisory status, and exclude him from negotiations 12 307 451 476.
• Uchiha Yuan — Principal adversary. Failed recruitment develops into repeated assassination attempts, the loss of Danzo’s arm, devastating Root casualties, and public humiliation 53 249 314 449 476.
• Senju Tobirama — Teacher; Danzo’s Wind Release proficiency is noted in connection with this training 118 309.
• Kagami Uchiha — Former companion whom Danzo killed. Kagami’s ocular flames permanently damaged him, and Kagami’s Sharingan power later becomes one of his defenses 119 312.
• Hatake Sakumo — Victim of Danzo’s smear campaign and political suppression 50.
• Senju Nawaki — Targeted for his organs, which Root used to revitalize Hashirama Cells for Danzo’s treatment 312.
• Yamanaka Fū — Trusted guard and operative; provides sensory support and Mind Body Switch attacks 116 117.
• Aburame Torune — Trusted guard and operative; protects Danzo with Kikaichū and later reports Root’s losses 116 117 392.
• Orochimaru — Former research collaborator and secret contact after his defection. Danzo publicly suspects his involvement in Root’s invasion while privately communicating with him about it 332 366 382.
• Hanzo — Covert ally used to tie down Sunagakure and Iwagakure. Danzo persuades him to eliminate Akatsuki because its peace efforts conflict with that strategy 116.
• Uchiha Shisui — Initially regarded as a major talent, later criticized for recommending Yuan and dismissed after defeat. Yuan and Fugaku suspect Danzo’s involvement in his death 53 135 338 439.
• Uchiha Itachi — Manipulated first toward eliminating Yuan, then toward massacring the clan through threats against Sasuke 367 458.
• Uchiha Fugaku — Political opponent who ultimately receives Danzo’s former advisory position, provoking his fury 479.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Early Conflict and Failed Recruitment

• Root attacks Yuan on Danzo’s orders during the Nine-Tails crisis and surveils the Uchiha Guard 2.
• Yuan warns Harukaze that openly displaying prodigious talent could attract Danzo and Root, prompting both to conceal their strength during Academy testing 33.
• After Yuan defeats Yoshiwara Yuto in defense of Sakumo’s reputation, Danzo summons him and offers Root membership as an alternative to punishment 50 52.
• His actual objective is to place an informant inside the Uchiha. He offers Yuan a Sharingan, then orders him killed when Yuan refuses; the target proves to be a Shadow Clone 53.
• Danzo postpones further action, treating Yuan’s forthcoming battlefield deployment as his only remaining use 53.

Akatsuki Operation and the Right-Eye Reveal

• Supports Hanzo’s campaign against Akatsuki, then retreats with Fū and Torune when Nagato summons the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path 116.
• Yuan attacks the retreating party while impersonating a Kumogakure ninja. Danzo wounds him with Wind Release, survives a lethal attack through Izanagi, and reveals his right-eye Sharingan 117 118.
• The eye’s sealed black flames force Yuan to withdraw. Danzo orders Unit A-1 to assist in searching for the supposed Kumogakure attacker 119.

Orochimaru’s Candidacy and Prison Confrontation

• Opposes Yuan’s Anbu appointment and seeks to force him into Root. Orochimaru intervenes when Root attempts to capture Yuan 135 136.
• Suspects Yuan’s strength is connected to Orochimaru’s experiments and vows to deal with Orochimaru during the Fifth Hokage succession dispute 173.
• After Orochimaru’s defection, orders forced memory searches of his associates without evidence of serious crimes 183.
• Yuan’s resistance escalates into battle. Kakashi and Shisui repeatedly prevent him from reaching Danzo, whose confidence gives way to panic 187 190 191.
• Danzo flees after losing his right arm. Its later reattachment does not erase the loss of Sharingan consumed while suppressing the resulting cellular erosion 194 249.

Root Infiltration and Experimental Discoveries

• Recruits Yamazo Qiichi as an informant by offering promotion from Special Jonin to Jonin 296.
• Gains permission to pursue Yuan after the deaths of three Anbu and sentences him to fifteen years in Black Prison 307 309.
• While a clone distracts Root, Yuan infiltrates its laboratories and discovers the use of Nawaki’s organs in Danzo’s treatment 312.
• Danzo defies Hiruzen’s release order and attempts to execute the restrained Yuan, only to discover an Earth Release Clone. Yuan leaves him alive with a warning 314.
• Yuan returns with Senju Gen under the identities Earth Emperor and Azure God. Danzo blames Orochimaru for the intrusion and fears exposure of Root’s secrets 327 332 333.
• The intruders escape despite Konoha’s response; Danzo later continues seeking information about the Illumination Society through his secret contact with Orochimaru 340 366.

Flame Demon Assault

• Attempts to capture the Flame Demon with prepared traps and poison gas, but the attacker breaks through and devastates Root 380 381.
• Flees to Konoha’s reinforcements and proposes deploying the Uchiha against the intruder 382.
• Enma blocks a strike that Danzo cannot evade. Danzo later assists Hiruzen’s unsuccessful effort to contain the Flame Demon 384 389.
• Root records 78 dead and 31 injured, amounting to roughly two-thirds of its personnel. Danzo orders replacements from the training base and demands additional recruits from Konoha’s clans 392.
• Residual enemy chakra threatens his life and requires prolonged treatment; most is eventually expelled 392 410.

Failed Prosecution and Loss of Office

• Attempts to prosecute Yuan for killing a Root squad, but Hiruzen accepts Yuan’s self-defense argument and demands an explanation for the surveillance 439.
• Seeks punishment again after Yuan kills a Root operative who nearly murdered Sasuke. Hiruzen rebukes him for risking a clan rebellion 447 448.
• Personally ambushes Yuan at Training Ground 10. Itachi alerts Hiruzen, and Anbu intervention forces Root to withdraw 449 450.
• Hiruzen strips Danzo of his elder-advisor status after the unauthorized assassination attempt 451.

Uchiha Massacre and Political Defeat

• Threatens Sasuke’s life to secure Itachi’s agreement to eliminate the Uchiha Clan, offering Sasuke’s survival in exchange 458.
• Sends Root to collect Sharingan from dead Uchiha. Yuan kills nearly thirty of these operatives, and the attempted collection strengthens accusations against Konoha’s leadership 474.
• Demands immediate action against the surviving Uchiha, while Hiruzen and the elders fear Yuan’s strength and the reaction of other clans 474 475.
• Yuan refuses to negotiate with Danzo present, and Hiruzen orders him out of the meeting 476.
• The settlement elevates Fugaku to Konoha advisory elder and Hokage assistant. Danzo resents the transfer of his former status and vows to keep watching Yuan 479.

Notable Quotes

“No evidence is needed. As Orochimaru's confidants, they are criminals guilty of grave offenses against the village.” 183

“But unfortunately, you are an Uchiha. The stronger you become, the less I can tolerate you.” 314

“Everything I do is for Konoha. My conscience is clear.” 314