Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Shimura Danzō; commonly called Danzo (团藏) 2
Gender	Male 2
Affiliation	Konoha; Root 2 11
Occupation/Role	Hokage advisor, Root leader, later Fifth Hokage 11 39 45
Status	Deceased — killed by Kaguya at the Five Kage Summit 185
First Appearance	Chapter 2; mentioned in Chapter 1 1 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Acquisition of Shisui’s right Sharingan	149	Retrospective recordings reveal that Danzo took Shisui’s eye before the Uchiha Massacre, obstructing Shisui’s plan to stop the coup through Kotoamatsukami.
Hashirama-cell arm with ten transplanted Sharingan	147 148	Surgical records reveal Orochimaru’s modification of Danzo’s right arm. Ten eyes harvested after the massacre were successfully transplanted; a metal seal restrained the Hashirama Cells.

Background / History

Uchiha Massacre

Danzo monitored the Uchiha through Root while Hiruzen continued seeking a negotiated solution to the clan’s planned coup. Before the massacre, he had already discussed Sharingan transplantation with Orochimaru and ordered that recovered eyes be delivered directly to him, outside hospital and casualty records 148.

After taking Shisui’s right eye, Danzo proposed that Itachi destroy the clan. He wanted an Uchiha to carry out the killings so the incident would appear to be an internal blood feud rather than an attack by Konoha’s leadership. Itachi initially refused 149.

A year later, with the coup ten days away, Danzo threatened that Sasuke would be executed alongside the other Uchiha if the rebellion began. Itachi agreed to stop the coup on the condition that Sasuke survived. Root subsequently took control of the clan compound and harvested Sharingan from the bodies 147 148 149.

Pursuit of Chiya

Chiya’s unexpected survival attracted Danzo’s attention immediately. Reports described a severe wound over his heart that had vanished by the time doctors examined him. Danzo demanded custody of the child, arguing that discovering his regenerative secret could benefit Konoha; Hiruzen refused and ordered him to stop his experiments 2.

When Chiya joined Kakashi’s Team 7, Danzo chose to wait for an opportunity outside the village. Root operatives disguised as Mist missing-nin attempted to capture him during the Land of Waves mission. After their failure, Danzo dispatched reinforcements to exploit Kakashi’s exhaustion and the continuing disorder 6 10 11.

The second force—one special jonin and four chunin—was killed. With Kakashi growing suspicious and Hiruzen likely to take precautions, Danzo ordered continued surveillance rather than another immediate attack 18.

Konoha Crush and Chiya’s Defection

Documents later recovered by Sasuke exposed Danzo’s cooperation with Orochimaru during the Konoha Crush. Danzo replaced Hiruzen’s patrol personnel with Root operatives and arranged for the eastern approach and Barrier Team to let Orochimaru’s forces pass without an alarm. Root’s separate mission was to abduct Chiya while disguised as Sound ninja, with permission to kill him if he resisted 147.

After Chiya wiped out the capture squad, Danzo considered intervening personally. A subordinate warned that involvement could damage his prospects in the approaching Hokage selection. Danzo instead ordered Feng to spread the claim that Orochimaru had controlled Chiya and made him kill Konoha shinobi 35.

At Chiya’s hearing, Danzo portrayed the seventeen dead attackers as village defenders and presented himself as the inheritor of Hiruzen’s Will of Fire. He publicly opposed execution while supporting a sentence of lifelong special custody. His private expectation was that Chiya would enter Root and never be seen again 39 41.

Chiya broke his restraints, manifested Susanoo, and crushed Danzo in its hand. Danzo survived through Izanagi. Chiya escaped Konoha, and Danzo’s attempted pursuit was interrupted by Itachi’s arrival; fearing what Itachi could reveal, he redirected Root toward monitoring Itachi and the Nine-Tails jinchūriki 40 41.

Fifth Hokage

Danzo became the Fifth Hokage after Hiruzen’s death. Still seeking Chiya’s spatial power, he sent Orochimaru ordinary Sharingan and requested that they be evolved into matching Mangekyō eyes. Orochimaru refused, explaining that eyes removed from their original bodies could no longer evolve 45 147.

As Hokage, Danzo ordered Root to take over Naruto’s residence and prohibited contact without his permission. Jiraiya rejected the order and secretly left with Naruto. Danzo recognized that ordinary pursuit teams could not stop Jiraiya and suppressed news of their departure 82 83.

He also sought to make Sand Village dependent on Konoha by taking over border outposts and competing for its missions. Chiya’s intervention forced him to suspend the operation, recall personnel, and complain to the Land of Wind daimyo 98 111.

After Jiraiya’s death and Naruto’s departure from Konoha, Danzo classified the mission details and maintained the public claim that Naruto was undergoing secret training. He confined the witnesses to the village and ordered surveillance of Tsunade, Kakashi, and Might Guy, but avoided arresting them because Konoha could not afford further losses 158 160.

Five Kage Summit and Death

To divert attention from Konoha’s weakened position, Danzo convened a summit in Iron Country. He circulated evidence of Chiya’s appearances near disappearing Tailed Beasts and his absorption of the Three-Tails’ chakra, intending to make the other villages suspicious regardless of Chiya’s actual relationship with Akatsuki 160.

At the summit, Danzo accused Chiya of being an important Akatsuki member and challenged Gaara’s and Mei Terumi’s defenses of him. Mifune proposed appointing Danzo supreme commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, but Ao detected Shisui’s chakra in Danzo’s right eye. Chiya subsequently exposed Danzo’s manipulation of Mifune 179 180 181 182.

Chiya prevented another Izanagi activation by severing Danzo’s modified arm through a spatial rift. He then tore away Danzo’s facial bandages and gouged out Shisui’s Sharingan before its technique could activate 184.

An urgent report announced that Sasuke had attacked Konoha and publicly released Root’s records of experiments, assassinations, and cooperation with Orochimaru. Danzo denied their authenticity and continued insisting that everything he had done was for Konoha. Chiya gave him ten seconds to escape the hall; he reached the corridor, only to be killed by Kaguya’s All-Killing Ash Bones 185.

Aftermath

Danzo’s death left Konoha without a leader while his incriminating records were already circulating publicly. The cursed seals on Root members’ tongues disappeared: some surrendered to the Anbu, while others remained at the base awaiting orders. The resulting leadership crisis led to Tsunade being approached as the Sixth Hokage 211.

His arm implants also influenced Chiya’s decision to transplant a Rinnegan into his palm rather than replace either natural eye. Sasuke, meanwhile, concluded that killing Danzo and destroying Root had not eliminated the political conditions that allowed such an organization to exist 207 219.

Appearance

Danzo is an elderly man who walks with a cane and initially appears to have only one visible eye 2 184.

• Facial bandages — conceal Shisui’s transplanted right Sharingan 184.
• Pallid right arm — contains multiple Sharingan embedded in Hashirama-cell-modified tissue 147 184.
• Metal arm guard — carries the seal used to restrain the modified arm 147 184.
• Hokage attire — wears the Hokage robe and conical hat after taking office 130 160.

Personality

Danzo treats individuals as resources whose freedom and lives may be sacrificed for the village. He describes Chiya’s proposed exploitation as a duty owed to Konoha and dismisses emotions as interference with a ninja’s judgment. Jiraiya directly challenges this outlook when Danzo attempts to place Naruto under Root’s control 2 82.

His public composure contrasts with his private anger. During Chiya’s hearing, he calmly adopts the language of mercy, order, and the Will of Fire; after failed operations or escapes, he grips his cane hard enough to crack it. He adjusts his methods when overt action threatens his political position 18 35 39 83.

Although he repeatedly claims to act only for Konoha, his secret cooperation with Orochimaru facilitates an invasion and Hiruzen’s death. Even after exposure and defeat, he refuses to beg for mercy and maintains that Konoha’s light depends on people working in darkness 147 185.

Abilities & Skills

Izanagi

• Survives being crushed by Chiya’s Susanoo and reappears elsewhere 40.
• Attempts to prepare the same technique at the Five Kage Summit, but Chiya removes his implanted arm before activation 184.

Shisui’s Sharingan

• Uses the transplanted eye to manipulate Mifune during the summit 181 182 184.
• Its chakra remains recognizable to Ao, exposing the eye’s origin 181 184.
• Attempts to use it against Chiya at close range, but Chiya gouges it out before the ocular technique activates 184.

Modified Right Arm

• Orochimaru’s Hashirama-cell modification allows the arm to support ten transplanted Sharingan 147.
• Requires a metal seal to prevent the cells from going out of control 147.
• Is lost when Chiya closes a spatial rift across Danzo’s shoulder 184.

Intelligence and Political Manipulation

• Commands Root’s surveillance, infiltration, capture, and assassination operations 6 11 147 148.
• Exploits selective evidence and public fear to frame Chiya while presenting himself as a protector 35 39.
• Uses classified information and accusations against other villages to influence the Five Kage Summit 160 179 181.
• Recognizes practical limits: he declines a futile pursuit of Jiraiya and avoids provoking Might Guy into a confrontation Root might not contain 83 160.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Cane — walking aid frequently tapped during deliberation; repeatedly cracked through forceful gripping 2 35 83.
• Sealed metal arm guard — restrains the Hashirama-cell-modified right arm 147 184.
• Facial bandages — hide Shisui’s Sharingan until Chiya tears them away 184.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — longtime comrade and political rival. Hiruzen blocks his attempt to take Chiya; Danzo later helps Orochimaru bypass Konoha’s defenses 2 147.
• Chiya Uchiha — intended experimental subject and later enemy. Danzo’s capture attempts and fabricated charges force Chiya out of Konoha 2 35 39 40.
• Orochimaru — secret collaborator in body modification, Sharingan research, and the Konoha Crush. Their dealings later become evidence against Danzo 130 147 185.
• Itachi Uchiha — coerced into stopping the coup through the threat to Sasuke’s life. Danzo fears Itachi’s ability to expose their secrets 41 148 149.
• Sasuke Uchiha — leverage against Itachi; later uncovers and publicly releases Danzo’s incriminating records 149 185.
• Shisui Uchiha — victim of Danzo’s eye theft. His proposed use of Kotoamatsukami offered an alternative to destroying the clan 149.
• Naruto Uzumaki — viewed primarily as Konoha’s Nine-Tails asset. Rejects Danzo’s authority and leaves the village 82 158.
• Jiraiya — opposes Naruto’s confinement and removes him from Danzo’s control 82 83.
• Kakashi Hatake — protects Chiya under Hiruzen’s orders; later imprisoned by Root for opposing Danzo’s attempt to take Naruto 6 211.
• Mifune — summit host manipulated into supporting Danzo’s appointment as alliance commander 181 182 184.
• Fū Yamanaka and Torune Aburame — Konoha guards accompanying him at the summit; both are incapacitated by Chiya’s Wood Dragon 180 184.

Notable Quotes

“Hiruzen, the Uchiha Clan only needs one heir. Hand that brat over to me.” 2

“Emotions only interfere with a ninja's judgment.” 82

“The light over Konoha can shine only because someone is willing to bury themselves in darkness and bear all the blame for the village.” 185