Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Shimura Danzō; also rendered Danzo 21
Alias(es)	“Darkness of the shinobi world” 21
Gender	Male 21
Affiliation	Konohagakure, Root, Shimura Clan 21 155
Occupation/Role	Former Konoha elder, Root leader, and Shimura Clan head; stripped of his village leadership titles before his public trial 155 158
Status	Deceased; publicly beheaded by Kakashi under Yun Yan’s orders 196 197
First Appearance	Referenced in the supplied passages 6; directly depicted at his home 21

Background / History

Danzo controlled Root, Konoha’s clandestine organization, and carried out work that Hiruzen Sarutobi could not openly undertake. He also absorbed blame for Hiruzen’s actions, making him both an operative and a political scapegoat. Despite his considerable authority, Danzo remained subordinate to the Hokage—a position he bitterly resented 21 36 129.

His public trial eventually exposed decades of crimes against Konoha’s citizens, clans, and leading ninja. The evidence included records of human experimentation, corruption, bloodline theft, and deliberate attacks on potential rivals 159 160 162.

Crimes Exposed at the Tribunal

Target / Incident	Revealed conduct
Second Hokage’s final battle	The tribunal accused Danzo of cowardice and fleeing the battlefield when the Second Hokage died 159.
Konoha civilians	Root secretly abducted innocent citizens for human experiments intended to increase Danzo’s power 159.
Konoha clans	Acquired clan techniques through coercion and forced clan ninja into Root; embezzled resources to expand the organization 159.
Hatake Sakumo	Manipulated public opinion to drive Sakumo to suicide because he feared the White Fang’s strength and reputation 160.
Tsunade	Plotted the wartime deaths of her younger brother and lover, contributing to the trauma that drove her from Konoha 160.
Orochimaru	Collaborated on human experiments, then forced Orochimaru into the open when he became uncontrollable and placed the blame on him after his defection 160.
Nine-Tails attack	Withheld Root while Hiruzen withheld ANBU, intending to let Minato and Kushina die sealing the Nine-Tails. Danzo wanted Minato removed as an obstacle to becoming Hokage 160.
Naruto Uzumaki	Spread the demon-fox rumors that contributed to Naruto’s ostracism 162.
Uchiha Clan	Participated in the clan’s exclusion and stole Sharingan through underhanded methods 162.

Appearance

• An elderly man whose expression and bearing are repeatedly described as gloomy and sinister 21 22.
• Has one exposed eye during his battle against the masked Yun Yan 75.
• Conceals several implanted Sharingan in his right forearm beneath loose sleeves and bandages 77 78.
• Carries a cane, which he uses to signal Root before discarding it to fight personally 74 75.
• Appears at his tribunal wrapped in sealing cloth strips that restrain his body and chakra 155.

Personality

Danzo presents his actions as sacrifices “for Konoha,” but his confessions reveal that personal supremacy is his overriding goal. He regards powerful clans as potential rivals regardless of their actual conduct and wants Konoha to belong to him alone. Even his own Shimura Clan is exempt from destruction only because of their blood relationship; he intends to keep its members weak and politically powerless 118 119.

His hatred of the Uchiha combines political paranoia with a desire for their eyes. He treats every three-tomoe Sharingan as another life through Izanagi, and the prospect of acquiring Yun Yan’s Mangekyō overwhelms his judgment. He attempts to seize the eyes openly during diplomatic negotiations, without accounting for their wielder’s strength 116 117.

Danzo is calculating when directing assassinations, espionage, and rumor campaigns, but reacts badly when events escape his control. The destruction of his laboratories produces rage and suspicion; prolonged sensory deprivation later leaves him confused, frightened, and increasingly unstable. He nevertheless remains unrepentant, ultimately threatening to kill every villager who opposes his claim to the Hokage position 80 81 156 164.

Abilities & Skills

Wind Release

• Uses Vacuum Wave, Vacuum Serial Waves, Vacuum Sphere, and Vacuum Great Sphere against the masked Yun Yan 75.
• Enhances thrown shuriken with sharp Wind Release chakra, making them resemble spinning vacuum wheels 75.
• His displayed attacks are all neutralized by Yun Yan’s Purple Lightning; he cannot react quickly enough to evade the finishing lightning pillar 75.

Izanagi

• Rewrites reality to negate his destruction by Yun Yan’s lightning attack and reappears unharmed behind Hiruzen 75 76 77.
• Each activation sacrifices one Sharingan 77.
• Stores multiple Sharingan in his right forearm as additional uses of the technique 77 78.
• Loses the implanted eyes when his forearm is destroyed; his remaining laboratory stockpile subsequently vanishes during Yun Yan’s second infiltration 78 81.

Root Command and Espionage

• Commands operatives conditioned to obey without questioning and attack without regard for their own lives 72.
• Maintains control through the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, which remains on his operatives even after death 12.
• Plants Root agents inside Hiruzen’s ANBU. Their reports are less precise than those supplied by Hiruzen’s spies inside Root, a weakness that contributes to his misreading of the Hyūga incident 105 117.
• Uses assassination, poison, hostage-taking, and public-opinion manipulation against perceived rivals 30 40 68 106.

Hashirama Cell Research

• Cultivates and stores Hashirama Cells in Root laboratories and transplants the First Hokage’s cells into his own body in pursuit of Wood Release 74 81 159.
• Plans to use the cells to restore his destroyed right arm and resume implanting Sharingan 78 81.
• The remaining cell stocks are destroyed before those plans can proceed. Wood Release remains an anticipated power rather than a demonstrated combat ability in the supplied events 81.

Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique

• Carries the technique embedded on his body as a concealed contingency 133.
• Hiruzen discovers and neutralizes it before imprisoning him; Danzo never activates it in the documented events 133.

Limitations

• Yun Yan controls him with a single Mangekyō Sharingan glare, leaving him unable to resist interrogation 117.
• His survival resources depend on vulnerable physical assets: implanted eyes, stored Sharingan, and laboratory-grown Hashirama Cells 78 81.
• Hiruzen’s layered seals suppress his chakra, movement, senses, and speech, preventing escape and leaving him powerless at his execution 133 196.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Cane — Walking aid and command signal; discarded when he begins his personal duel 74 75.
• Shuriken — Used with Wind Release chakra during the Root-base confrontation 75.
• Implanted Sharingan — Several stolen eyes concealed in his right forearm; destroyed by an explosive Lightning Senbon 77 78.
• Reserve three-tomoe Sharingan — Kept in a secret laboratory known only to Danzo and a few confidants; all disappear during Yun Yan’s return strike 81.
• Hashirama Cell stocks — Secret research assets supporting his plans for bodily restoration, Wood Release, and further Sharingan implantation 80 81.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Longtime friend, superior, and political protector. Their partnership combines dirty work, scapegoating, mutual espionage, and Danzo’s resentment of Hiruzen’s position; Hiruzen eventually seals and imprisons him 21 105 129 133.
• Uchiha Yun Yan — Repeated assassination target who becomes the architect of his downfall, exposing his motives and directing his public reckoning 7 117 159 195.
• Izumi Uchiha — Targeted because of her closeness to Yun Yan; Root attempts to capture her as leverage against him 68 80.
• Hyūga Hiashi — Political target whom Danzo falsely identifies as Morui’s killer and tries to sacrifice to weaken the Hyūga Clan 105 106.
• Orochimaru — Collaborator in human experimentation and source of the deadly poison used in a failed attack on Yun Yan 40 160.
• Kakashi Hatake — Son of Sakumo, one of Danzo’s victims; personally executes Danzo with his father’s blade 195 196.
• Shimura Clan — His own clan, sustained politically by his influence. Its members cannot intervene when their clan head is publicly tried 118 155 164.
• Morino Ibiki — Tribunal interrogator who methodically exposes Danzo’s crimes through records and psychological pressure 159 160 164.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Repeated Attacks on Yun Yan

Danzo sends a jōnin and an elite jōnin to intercept Yun Yan during his return to Konoha. Yun Yan defeats them and identifies their Root affiliation through their tongue seals. Hiruzen does not initiate the ambush or deliberately leak the transfer order, but learns of Danzo’s deployment and allows it to proceed 7 9.

Under pressure from Yun Yan, Hiruzen temporarily removes Danzo from Root leadership and orders him home to reflect. He later visits Danzo and deliberately provokes him into another attack, hoping Root will reveal Yun Yan’s true strength and keep him occupied 13 21 22.

The next attempt uses deadly poison left by Orochimaru and also targets Izumi’s Sharingan. It fails, and Hiruzen subsequently gives Danzo a genuine warning not to attack Yun Yan again 30 33 40.

Root’s Destruction and the Loss of His Trump Cards

Danzo nevertheless sends two Root jōnin to capture Izumi while Yun Yan is away. A protective genjutsu Yun Yan planted in advance immobilizes them; he returns through Flying Thunder God, kills the attackers, and prepares a disguised retaliation 68 69 71.

As the faceless intruder, Yun Yan storms Root’s base and loots a laboratory containing Hashirama Cells. Danzo breaks his home confinement to confront him, only to lose his assembled subordinates and be destroyed by a lightning pillar. Izanagi saves him, but Yun Yan’s parting attack explodes inside his right forearm, destroying its remaining implanted eyes 72 74 75 77 78.

Danzo suspects Yun Yan after learning that Izumi’s capture failed, but Yun Yan’s apparent presence on a mission with Kakashi provides an alibi. A second, silent infiltration then removes all remaining Hashirama Cells and reserve Sharingan, destroying Danzo’s plans to rebuild his arm and replenish his extra lives 80 81.

Sabotaging the Hyūga Clan

Using incomplete intelligence from his ANBU moles, Danzo concludes that Hiashi killed the missing Kumogakure ninja Morui. He deliberately leaks that conclusion to Kumogakure, intending to have foreign pressure and public panic force Hiashi’s sacrifice. Dodai recognizes the leak as an internal scheme but willingly exploits it 105 106.

During the final negotiations, Yun Yan reveals his Mangekyō Sharingan. Danzo immediately tries to gouge out his eyes and is caught in genjutsu. Forced to answer questions, he admits the leak, his desire to weaken the Hyūga, and his broader ambition to eliminate every independent source of power within Konoha 116 117 118.

Imprisonment and Public Tribunal

After Yun Yan demands accountability, Hiruzen seals Danzo’s chakra, movement, senses, and tongue, disables his Reverse Four Symbols contingency, and orders him confined in ANBU’s deepest prison 119 133.

Danzo spends more than ten days under sensory deprivation before being dragged onto a public tribunal platform. Hiruzen partially releases the seals so Ibiki can interrogate him, while Yun Yan supplies covert genjutsu assistance when his resistance obstructs proceedings 155 156 159 161.

The trial exposes Danzo’s crimes and the complicity of Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura. Danzo moves from frightened self-justification to boastful confession, finally declaring that he would slaughter Konoha’s entire population if everyone opposed his becoming Hokage. The tribunal ends with a death sentence, and Hiruzen reseals him pending execution 160 162 164 168 169.

Execution and Posthumous Punishment

At the public execution before Konoha’s Memorial Stone, Kakashi brings Sakumo’s personal blade—the weapon his father used to take his own life. After Ibiki reads the charges, Yun Yan authorizes Kakashi to carry out the sentence. With his strength and chakra still sealed, Danzo cannot resist the clean beheading 195 196 197.

Danzo dies without remorse, scorning the villagers who celebrate his death. His remains are subsequently buried beneath a road to be trampled, and Yun Yan orders his crimes compiled into a book for distribution throughout the shinobi world, assigning Jiraiya to write it 196 198.

Notable Quotes

“Everything this old man has done was for Konoha!” 22 157

“However, not the Shimura of the Shimura Clan—the Shimura of Shimura Danzō!” 118

“That's right! Everything I did was to become Hokage! To control all of Konoha! To gain the highest authority! To become the supreme being!” 164