Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Danzo Shimura (团藏)
Alias(es)	“Konoha’s Root” 43; “Darkness of the Shinobi” 40 423
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Root (former) 4 79
Occupation/Role	Konoha elder; leader of Root 4 5
Status	Deceased; killed by his own Reverse Four Symbols Seal after Uchiha Yushu evaded its blast with a Shadow Clone 44 45
First Appearance	Chapter 4

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Grafted Sharingan arm	38	Replaced his right arm with a pale arm embedded with Sharingan of varying tomoe; the graft initially eroded his body while fusing with him.
Fully adapted graft	42 43	The arm restored him beyond his former peak and supplied immense vitality. Its Hashirama Cells allowed him to manifest Wood Release, though losing control risked transforming him into a giant tree.

Background / History

Danzo appeared after Root operatives attempted to abduct Uchiha Natsuri. He accused Uchiha Yushu and the Uchiha Clan of murdering Konoha ninja, despite being unable to publicly acknowledge that the dead men belonged to Root. He then accused the clan of planning rebellion and sought custody of Naruto Uzumaki as compensation for Root’s losses. 4 5

He regarded the Uchiha Clan as an enemy that needed complete destruction and saw becoming Hokage as the means to lead Konoha himself. During the Nine-Tails Rebellion, Root surrounded the Uchiha compound and prevented the Konoha Military Police Force from deploying, an order Fugaku later identified as Danzo’s rather than the village leader’s. 5 15

As Uchiha Yushu consolidated control of the Uchiha Clan and Military Police Force, Danzo treated him as a greater threat than Fugaku. He had Root surveil Yushu, intensified Root’s training in response to Yushu’s activities, and commissioned Orochimaru through secret channels. He also began pursuing a Sharingan-based arm capable of countering Yushu’s growing power. 22 23 24

Danzo escalated from surveillance to open violence. He ordered Root to kill Yushu’s family and guests while taking Naruto alive, intending to blame the jinchuriki’s disappearance on the Uchiha Clan. Root’s ambush failed; Yushu killed the attacking force, and Danzo ordered the abandonment of a Root base. 31 32 34

After Yushu began using the Konoha Daily to destroy his public standing, including a campaign initially built around fabricated allegations, Danzo received a Sharingan-filled grafted arm and relocated his operations. As public hostility toward Root grew, the Konoha Military Police Force destroyed eight of its secret bases. Root later attacked the Uchiha newspaper office and commercial-street shops, killing Uchiha Ye and attempting to target Shisui and the Flame Girl. 38 40 41

When the Konoha Military Police Force surrounded his new hideout, Danzo refused arrest. He fought Yushu and Shisui, deploying Wind Release and Wood Release in an attempt to obtain Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan and regain a path toward the Hokage position. 42 43

Yushu’s Judgment Eye forced Danzo to relive his crimes but failed to break him, as Danzo considered all of his actions justified for Konoha. Yushu instead trapped him in a genjutsu centered on his lifelong rivalry with Hiruzen Sarutobi. As Hashirama Cells overwhelmed his body, Danzo activated the Reverse Four Symbols Seal to kill Yushu with him; Yushu escaped through a Shadow Clone, leaving Danzo to die in the seal’s implosion. 43 44 45

After his death, Yushu publicly reported that the rogue ninja Danzo had been executed. Records recovered from Root subsequently exposed further evidence of his crimes, while Root was dissolved and ceased to exist as an independent covert force. 45 47 79

Appearance

Danzo was an elderly, one-eyed man who initially relied on a cane. Much of his body was wrapped in bandages, and he bore a cross-shaped scar on his chin. 4

• One visible eye; the other side of his face and body was heavily bandaged. 4
• Cross-shaped scar on his chin. 4
• Used a cane before adapting to his grafted right arm. 4 42
• His replacement right arm was pale and perforated with implanted Sharingan. 38

Personality

Danzo was intensely suspicious, authoritarian, and fixated on controlling perceived threats to Konoha. He interpreted the Uchiha Clan’s growing independence as rebellion, viewed Yushu’s political outreach as a danger, and repeatedly sought to seize Sharingan power for himself. 5 23 30 42

He justified brutality through an uncompromising belief that Konoha’s survival outweighed any individual life. Even when Judgment Eye exposed his human experimentation, killings, and manipulation, he expressed neither remorse nor doubt. 43 44

Danzo’s absolute conviction that he was righteous for Konoha also prevented Judgment Eye from fatally condemning him, since he did not acknowledge himself as connected to sin. 44

His devotion to Konoha was inseparable from his resentment toward Hiruzen Sarutobi and his unfulfilled ambition to become Hokage. Yushu’s genjutsu exploited this rivalry, demonstrating that Danzo remained consumed by the moment Hiruzen was chosen over him. 5 44

Abilities & Skills

Wind Release

Danzo used highly refined Wind Release techniques in direct combat. After adapting to his grafted arm, he restored his strength to at least his former peak and turned a C-rank Wind Release into an attack with A-rank force. 42 43

• Wind Release: Great Breakthrough — Used to enter the battle against Shisui and scatter the battlefield. 42
• Vacuum Sphere, Vacuum Wave, Vacuum Serial Waves, and Wind Release: Shuriken — Fired in rapid succession against Shisui. 43
• His wind attacks could not disperse Yushu’s non-chakra flames. 43

Grafted Sharingan Arm and Wood Release

Danzo replaced his right arm with a graft containing multiple Sharingan and Hashirama Cells. The arm supplied life force throughout his body and enabled Wood Release after he stopped suppressing the cells. 38 42 43

• Wood Release: Violent Gun Tree — Grew branches from his right arm to block Shisui’s Susanoo. 43
• The graft caused severe bodily erosion before it fused with him. 38
• Releasing the Hashirama Cells risked losing control and turning into a giant tree. 43

Reverse Four Symbols Seal

Danzo carried a suicide seal on his chest. When activated, black markings spread outward, enclosing Danzo and his target before compressing into a sealed sphere. 44

• Intended to kill Uchiha Yushu alongside him. 44
• Failed to claim Yushu because Yushu had used a Shadow Clone as a substitute. 44 45
• The seal ultimately caused Danzo’s death. 44

Root Command and Covert Operations

As Root’s leader, Danzo directed clandestine surveillance, kidnappings, assassinations, training, and operations from hidden bases. 4 23 24 31

• Ordered Root to monitor Yushu and Shisui. 23 24
• Directed an operation to capture Naruto while eliminating the Uchiha witnesses. 31 32
• Maintained secret facilities for Root operations and experimentation. 34 35 43
• Ordered Root to abandon a compromised base after its forces were defeated. 34
• Treated mission failure as normally punishable by death, although he spared Root’s surviving barrier specialists because their skills remained useful. 34

Root Operations

• Continued Hashirama Cell experiments with Orochimaru after Hiruzen ordered the original program stopped; the later trials used abducted ninja, civilians, and infants. 43
• Coerced Nonō into returning to Root by holding orphanage children hostage, then sent Kabuto to kill her because she knew too much. 43
• Led Root in the Land of Rain while disguised as Hidden Stone ninja, attacking Hidden Rain forces and civilian villages to advance Konoha’s interests. 43
• Manipulated Hanzo against Akatsuki by presenting civilians killed by Root as Akatsuki’s victims. 43
• Arranged for Konoha’s White Fang to join an assassination mission, then had a Root operative accuse him of abandoning the failed mission; the resulting smear campaign preceded Sakumo Hatake’s suicide. 45
• Root’s operational records documented its activities in redacted form. Danzo regarded these files as a record of the darkness he had borne for Konoha and appended “[Approver: Hiruzen Sarutobi]” to his personal versions. 423

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Longtime political rival and former close companion. Danzo resented Hiruzen’s selection as Hokage and continued to pursue the office himself. Danzo’s Root records also characterized Hiruzen as an approver of Root operations, reflecting the pair’s deeply entangled history in Konoha’s covert affairs. 5 44 423
• Uchiha Yushu — Principal enemy. Danzo attempted to discredit, surveil, and kill him, but Yushu exposed Root and ultimately caused Danzo’s death. 5 23 31 44
• Uchiha Shisui — Target of Danzo’s ambition; Danzo sought Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan to further empower his grafted arm. 42
• Orochimaru — Secret contact and collaborator in the continuation of Hashirama Cell experiments. 23 43
• Naruto Uzumaki — Target for capture as the Nine-Tails’ jinchuriki; Danzo intended to take him into Root and use his disappearance against the Uchiha Clan. 5 31 32
• Yakushi Nonō and Yakushi Kabuto — Danzo forced Nonō back into Root by threatening the orphanage children, then ordered Kabuto to kill her after deciding that she knew too much. 43
• Konoha’s White Fang — Danzo exploited Sakumo Hatake’s skill for a fatal assassination mission, then orchestrated the accusation that destroyed Sakumo’s reputation and preceded his suicide. 45
• Root operatives — Subordinates conditioned to carry out his covert orders; Danzo treated failed missions as normally warranting death. 24 34

Notable Quotes

“I am Danzo Shimura! I am Konoha’s Root!” 43

“For Konoha, a few insignificant sacrifices are necessary.” 43

“In the end, I still failed to become Hokage!” 44