Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Danzo Shimura (团藏; also rendered Danzō) 9
Gender	Male 496
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Root; Hokage Advisor Council 8 9
Occupation/Role	Hokage advisor, leader of Root, and recurring candidate for Hokage 9 434
Teacher	Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage 358 496
Status	Deceased; his funeral is held in Konoha, and Kakashi succeeds him as Root’s leader 501
First Appearance	Chapter 8, during a meeting in the Hokage’s office 8

Power Progression

Danzo’s documented enhancements involve transplanted cells and eyes rather than a stated rise through ninja ranks.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Hashirama-cell arm already implanted	11	Xing Ran discovers pale-gray transplanted tissue beneath Danzo’s bandages. Complex seals suppress the cells’ activity and conceal the transplant from chakra-based inspection.
Four three-tomoe Sharingan acquired	258	Danzo has accumulated four eyes through dealings with members of the Uchiha clan; he consumes one during the confrontation with Xing Ran.
Expanded Sharingan supply documented	361	During the Shisui incident, Danzo has used three Sharingan, including his right eye, while Xing Ran identifies three more on his arm. These provide repeated uses of Izanagi.

Background / History

Danzo was among Konoha’s first Ninja Academy students and became a disciple of Tobirama Senju. He later built his authority around Root and the Hokage Advisor Council, presenting himself as the hidden foundation supporting Konoha 9 496.

His ambition to become Hokage repeatedly brought him into conflict with Hiruzen Sarutobi. After Hiruzen returned to power following the Fourth Hokage’s death, Danzo attempted to assassinate him before his official appointment. The attempt failed because Kakashi, whom Danzo regarded as a promising Root recruit, remained loyal to Hiruzen 434.

Danzo also maintained a mutually exploitative relationship with Orochimaru. His betrayal of Orochimaru during the latter’s defection left their later cooperation dependent on concrete benefits rather than trust 271.

Appearance

Danzo is an elderly man with a bandaged head and a cross-shaped scar on his chin. His concealed arm contains pale-gray Hashirama-cell tissue, and he later walks with a cane 9 11 357.

• Cross-shaped chin scar — a prominent identifying feature 9.
• Sealed arm bandages — suppress the transplanted cells and obstruct inspection 11.
• Heavily aged face — deep bags narrow his remaining good eye when he encounters Might Guy 325.
• Transplanted Sharingan — includes a right-eye Sharingan and additional eyes carried on his arm during the Shisui incident 361.

Personality

Danzo habitually frames coercion as service to Konoha. He describes Root’s operatives as selfless heroes, yet seeks unquestioning obedience and treats talented ninja as assets to be brought under his control. When Xing Ran resists recruitment, Danzo assumes Hiruzen has turned the young ninja against him rather than accepting the refusal 8 145.

His pragmatism extends to evidence manipulation, assassination, and sacrificing his own personnel. He considers blaming Iwagakure advantageous regardless of the attackers’ actual identity, plans to conceal stolen Sharingan through cremation, and is prepared to bury Root members alongside Orochimaru’s captives to secure Nagato 9 234 486.

Becoming Hokage is his lifelong obsession. Even a one-percent chance—or holding the office for only one day—is enough to sustain his efforts. His failures deepen his resentment toward Hiruzen and toward Tobirama for not choosing him as successor 434 492 493.

Abilities & Skills

Wind Release

Danzo’s most proficient elemental discipline is Wind Release, used for rapid projectile attacks and large-scale bombardment 256 486.

• Vacuum Spheres — fires repeated, bullet-like bursts of compressed chakra. Five successive shots are needed to divert Xing Ran’s super-strength-enhanced kunai 256.
• Great Vacuum Sphere — launches a massive compressed projectile as the core of an ambush against Nagato and Konan 486.
• Coordinated elemental attack — combines his Great Vacuum Sphere with Earth, Fire, Water, and Lightning chakra dragons produced by subordinate squads; those four releases are not cast by Danzo himself 486.

Izanagi

Danzo uses the forbidden technique Izanagi to undo severe injuries and death, consuming transplanted Sharingan in the process 360 361.

• Restores his severed left arm and immediately follows with a kunai ambush 360.
• Recovers after Xing Ran smashes his head, at the cost of another Sharingan 360.
• Returns at full strength to strike Nagato from behind while Nagato is distracted by sealing Tobirama 495.
• Limitations: repeated use depletes his eye supply. Losing his right-eye vision contributes to fatigue, blurred sight, irritability, and slower reactions 361.

Earth Release

• Earth Style: Earth Replacement — substitutes a mud body for Danzo when Xing Ran punches him. The mud restrains Xing Ran’s arm while Danzo attacks his throat from behind 256.

Genjutsu

Danzo is identified as a genjutsu expert, and Xing Ran initially fears that exposure of his Superman abilities could lead to hypnosis and forced service in Root 8 145.

• His association with mental control makes him a particular threat while Xing Ran’s genjutsu resistance is weak 8.
• His expertise does not make him immune: Itachi places the exhausted Danzo under genjutsu and draws out an account of the Shisui incident until Hiruzen interrupts 362.

Hashirama-Cell Transplant

Danzo’s altered arm contains cells from the First Hokage, but its early implementation is crude and unstable 11.

• Seals keep the cells suppressed; avoiding strenuous activity reduces the immediate danger 11.
• Concealment measures prevent ordinary chakra-based inspection from exposing the arm, while Xing Ran’s X-ray vision bypasses them 11.
• The transplant does not make the limb invulnerable: Zetsu severs it with a palm strike while stealing the Rinnegan 495.
• The provided account does not establish Danzo personally casting Wood Release; the wooden nets in his ambush are deployed by his forces 486.

Intelligence, Recruitment & Political Manipulation

• Covert surveillance — uses Root to follow Xing Ran, increasing the surveillance’s subtlety after Hiruzen warns him 145 154.
• Talent recruitment — targets Xing Ran for Flying Thunder God and offers Itachi training intended to bring him to Kage-level strength within two years 145 233.
• Rumor campaigns — pressures the Uchiha through incriminating rumors and later prepares a similar offensive against the Fifth Hokage 245 480.
• Institutional leverage — uses funding restrictions against Xing Ran’s Wood Style Research Institute 357 480.
• Assassination tactics — exploits distraction and lowered vigilance against Shisui and Nagato 359 360 495.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Kunai — used for close-range killing attempts against Xing Ran and for the surprise strike into Nagato’s back 256 360 495.
• Cane — carried during later meetings and the operation outside Orochimaru’s base 357 485.
• Sealed bandages — conceal and restrain his transplanted arm tissue 11.
• Transplanted Sharingan — serve as expendable resources for Izanagi 258 360 361.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — lifelong friend and rival. Their disputes range from diplomacy and Root’s authority to Hokage succession; Hiruzen’s supporters openly undermine Danzo’s election campaign 9 259 434.
• Tobirama Senju — former teacher. Danzo resents not being chosen as Hokage and voices his grievances when the reanimated Tobirama returns 358 492 493.
• Yamanaka Xing Ran — recruitment target turned political enemy. Danzo covets his Flying Thunder God abilities, while Xing Ran resists Root and later restricts its operations as Fifth Hokage 145 258 479 480.
• Orochimaru — unreliable collaborator. Their dealings involve Wood Release research and a proposed division of Nagato’s Rinnegan 271 479.
• Kakashi Hatake — former recruitment prospect and assassination target. Danzo orders his death to obtain his Sharingan; Kakashi eventually succeeds him as Root’s leader 217 434 501.
• Uchiha Itachi — prized recruit who refuses Root’s offer. Danzo later regards him as a useful pawn, but Shisui’s murder turns Itachi against him 233 234 336 362.
• Uchiha Shisui — target of an ambush after Danzo learns about Kotoamatsukami. Danzo kills him but loses his head and eyes to Xing Ran before extracting the Sharingan 357 359 360.
• Fū Yamanaka — loyal Root operative raised under Danzo’s patronage. Danzo refuses the Fifth Hokage’s request to transfer Fū, whose allegiance remains with him rather than his clan 485.
• Nagato Uzumaki — target of Danzo’s final attempt to acquire greater power. Danzo seeks the Rinnegan as a means to remove the Fifth Hokage 486 495.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Radical Advisor

• Rejects Hiruzen’s diplomatic approach to suspected Iwagakure involvement in a bandit attack, proposing that Root present evidence and demand an explanation from the Tsuchikage 8 9.
• Demands retaliation when the Raikage adds terms to peace negotiations and proposes elite decapitation strikes, without accepting that Root alone should undertake the operation 64 65.
• Opposes giving Sunagakure improved tailed-beast sealing techniques, while also warning Hiruzen not to push the humiliated Kazekage too far 133.

Conflict with Xing Ran

• Attempts recruitment at a breakfast stall, then has Root tail Xing Ran after the refusal 145.
• Retrieves an exposed subordinate from the Hokage Building and receives a warning from Hiruzen about further actions involving Xing Ran 153 154.
• Root intercepts Xing Ran on his return to Konoha. The confrontation escalates into a direct battle, after which Danzo demands Root custody and interrogation 251 256 258.
• Becomes alarmed by public support for Xing Ran as a future Hokage and orders an investigation into its source 263.
• Opposes Xing Ran’s proposed Sunagakure trade as his Wood Release research approaches a breakthrough 276.

Sharingan Acquisition and the Uchiha Crisis

After the attempt on Kakashi fails and Danzo loses access to his only Wood Release ninja, he redirects his search for replacement Sharingan toward the Uchiha. He approaches Itachi and other clan members, while planning to harvest eyes from selected victims and conceal their removal through cremation 233 234.

Danzo’s response to the clan’s refusal is a rumor campaign. Later, after hearing about Kotoamatsukami, he tries to enlist Xing Ran against Shisui by portraying the Mangekyō user as the central threat behind an impending coup. Xing Ran refuses 245 357 358.

Danzo ambushes and kills Shisui near an old temple. Xing Ran intervenes while impersonating the Akatsuki’s masked man, takes Shisui’s head, and forces Danzo to expend multiple Sharingan. Itachi arrives, awakens his Mangekyō Sharingan, and extracts Danzo’s account through genjutsu. The revelation inflames the confrontation between the Uchiha and Konoha 359 360 361 362.

Failed Hokage Bid

• Presents himself as a candidate during Hiruzen’s retirement, despite widespread concern that his election would provoke further conflict with the Uchiha 433 434.
• Receives only meager support, largely from eligible Root squad leaders 435.
• Before voting concludes, proposes making Xing Ran merely Acting Hokage, citing his youth and lack of experience 435.
• Under the Fifth Hokage, faces scrutiny of Root’s finances and finds his usual political traps ineffective against Xing Ran’s lack of interest in conventional office politics 479 480.

Final Rinnegan Operation and Death

Danzo accepts Orochimaru’s proposal to seize Nagato’s Rinnegan, expecting possession of the eyes to give him the power to depose Xing Ran. He organizes a combined Anbu–Root ambush and is prepared to destroy Orochimaru’s base with captives and his own operatives still inside. Nagato and Konan emerge before the detonation order is given 479 486.

His elemental bombardment and his forces’ Wood Release traps fail against Nagato’s defenses. During the ensuing battle, Danzo uses Izanagi to exploit a brief opening and removes a Rinnegan, but Zetsu severs his arm and escapes with it. Obito then captures Danzo, while Nagato wants him preserved as leverage for the captured Konan 486 495 496.

With the Rinnegan lost, Danzo rejects living on in disgrace and declares his final defiance. His death is confirmed by the subsequent funeral in Konoha. Various clans attend, including the Uchiha despite their history with him, and Kakashi takes over Root without inheriting Danzo’s advisor seat 496 501.

Notable Quotes

“Hiruzen, why are you still so naive? It’s most beneficial for us if the attackers were Rock ninja. That’s all that matters.” 9

“Rinnegan, let this old man carry on its legacy...” 495

“You Akatsuki members are too naive. The backbone of us Konoha ninjas, I’ll let you see it now...” 496