Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Shimura Danzo; also rendered Shimura Danzō (团藏) 47 60
Alias(es)	First Root Shadow 132 156; “Konoha's great contributor,” a title repeatedly treated with irony 60 62
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Konoha leadership; Root, which remains under his effective control after his dismissal; later Root Hidden Village 47 115 132
Occupation/Role	Former Root Leader; Konoha higher-up; First Root Shadow; aspiring Hokage 4 47 115 132
Status	Deceased; his corpse is returned to Konoha and displayed on the Pillar of Shame 150
First Appearance	Chapter 4, “The Clan Head's Golden Finger” 4

Power Progression

Danzo's documented gains concern reanimation techniques and summons rather than named ranks.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Enhanced Impure World Reincarnation research	115	Acquires an improvement scroll and secretly studies it, seeking enough power to overturn Uchiha rule and become Hokage.
Reanimation of Tobirama Senju	122 126	Revives his former teacher to challenge Fugaku's accession. Retains the ability to take control of Tobirama if their political plan fails.
Expanded reanimation force	139 140	Tests control through modified sacrifices, revives Asuma for intelligence, and awakens summons including Hashirama for an attack on Konoha.

Background / History

Earlier covert operations

Danzo helped force Hatake Sakumo to his death through public pressure. When the village later turned against its leadership over the Nine-Tails attack, he recognized the atmosphere as resembling the campaign against Sakumo 28.

During wartime, Danzo and Obito cooperated against the original Akatsuki. They helped turn Hanzō's appreciation of the organization into fear of a rival power. Danzo then worked with Hanzō in Konoha's name to eliminate Yahiko, while Obito killed Akatsuki members attempting to reach their comrades. Their operation drove Nagato into darkness 132.

Nine-Tails controversy and failed diplomacy

After the Nine-Tails attack, Danzo attempted to recommend himself as Hokage, only for Hiruzen to speak before him 4. Root subsequently warned him of a major Uchiha move, but his attempt to alert Hiruzen ended in an argument over entering the Hokage Office without knocking 25.

Uchiha Satoshi publicly argued that the Uchiha could have stopped the Nine-Tails if they had been allowed to intervene. Danzo's role in preventing their participation turned villagers against him. Hiruzen cut ties with him and removed him as Root Leader, although Root remained effectively his organization 30 47.

Seeking to restore his standing, Danzo joined the frontline command and pursued an alliance with Iwagakure against Kumogakure. He returned to Konoha boasting of success and presenting himself as its savior. An emergency report immediately exposed the outcome: Iwagakure and Kumogakure had allied against Konoha instead 47 60.

Despite the disaster, Danzo remained involved in high-level meetings. Fugaku and Hitoshi ostensibly defended him, while Hitoshi's praise pointedly catalogued his failures. Danzo nevertheless took comfort in the apparent support 62.

Funding Konoha and reviving Tobirama

Danzo emptied the Shimura Clan's coffers to support reconstruction and preserve his position among Konoha's higher-ups. Resentful of repeatedly accepting blame for Hiruzen, he decided that his efforts should receive public recognition rather than remain hidden 115.

While seeking further funding outside the village, he found a falling scroll containing enhancements to Impure World Reincarnation. The scroll had previously fallen from Orochimaru and been discarded by Black Zetsu. Danzo concealed his research, but his unusual requests for ninjutsu advice allowed Hiruzen to identify what he was studying 110 115.

Danzo revived Tobirama to oppose Fugaku's inauguration. Tobirama initially considered giving Danzo the Hokage position after judging Hiruzen a failure. The intervention unraveled when Fugaku's accusations prompted Danzo and Hiruzen to expose each other's scandals publicly 122 126 127.

Root Hidden Village and the attack on Konoha

Danzo later operated as the First Root Shadow from a small island nation near the Land of Waves. Its secluded village offered a base for covert development and possessed both Impure World Reincarnation and Earth Style Reincarnation Jutsu. There, he renewed his uneasy partnership with Obito 132.

Recognizing Itachi as a weapon against his own clan, Danzo selected Asuma for a reanimation-control test that Itachi witnessed. Itachi interpreted Asuma's death as evidence of a Uchiha conspiracy. Danzo also revived Asuma and obtained intelligence from him 138 139 140.

The conspirators' objective changed from revenge against the Uchiha to capturing Uchiha Hikari. Danzo and Obito coveted her Yachihoko, which could gather chakra from countless people. Danzo deployed reanimated shinobi, including Hashirama, but controlling such powerful summons proved difficult. Konoha's police and clans coordinated to contain and seal the attackers 140 141 143.

Pursuit and death

After the attack failed, Fugaku led a force to capture Danzo, with Hashirama, Tobirama, and Shisui among its members. Danzo used the divided Second Tsuchikage, Mū, to evade the sealing squads and locate the final weapon Obito had prepared: Uchiha Madara. He left a letter addressed to Madara, but doubted whether the revived shinobi would obey him 141 148.

Danzo was killed following the failed conspiracy. His corpse was brought back to Konoha and displayed on the Pillar of Shame; Madara later inherited the designation of Second Root Shadow 150 156.

Personality

Danzo is intensely ambitious and sensitive to status. He considers himself Hiruzen's equal, repeatedly seeks the Hokage position, and resents losing formal authority even when his practical control over Root remains intact. His triumphant return from Iwagakure displays confidence far beyond what his diplomatic results justify 4 47 60.

His partnership with Hiruzen mixes long familiarity with resentment. The two can communicate an expectation that Danzo accept blame through a single glance, but humiliation and repeated scapegoating eventually push him to demand visible credit for his work 28 115.

His manipulation is ruthless, but his judgment is unreliable. He exploits Itachi's convictions while privately mocking his naivety, and Kagami describes him as overly impatient—acting before he is fully certain of success 140 143.

Abilities & Skills

Impure World Reincarnation

Danzo uses an enhanced version of the technique to revive dead shinobi and turn them into political or military assets 115 126 140.

• Revives Tobirama to challenge Fugaku's claim to the Hokage position 122 126.
• Modifies sacrifices to test the strength and controllability of his summons 139.
• Uses reanimated Asuma as an intelligence source 140.
• Controls Mū for infiltration, exploiting his flight and concealment 148.
• Struggles to manage multiple exceptionally powerful summons; Hashirama's cells do not secure control over Hashirama himself 141 143.

Covert Operations and Political Manipulation

Danzo combines intelligence networks, proxy alliances, and public-pressure campaigns.

• Receives reports through Root even before his formal dismissal 25.
• Retains effective control over Root after losing its leadership title 47.
• Works with Hanzō and Obito to destroy Yahiko's Akatsuki 132.
• Treats Itachi's distrust of his clan as an opportunity to attack the Uchiha from within 139 140.

Equipment / Items

• Enhanced Impure World Reincarnation scroll — The basis of his secret reanimation research; he initially refuses Hiruzen's requests to share it 115.
• Modified reanimation sacrifices — Used in experiments intended to improve control over summoned shinobi 139 141.
• Letter to Uchiha Madara — Left with Mū during Danzo's final attempt to secure a decisive trump card 148.

Relationships

• Sarutobi Hiruzen — Longtime colleague and rival for the Hokage position. Their habitual cooperation survives repeated insults and scapegoating before deteriorating into public accusations 25 28 115 126.
• Tobirama Senju — Teacher and political authority whom Danzo revives to overturn Uchiha rule. Tobirama initially considers supporting him, but later joins the pursuit against him 122 148.
• Uchiha Obito — Co-conspirator in the destruction of Yahiko's Akatsuki and the later attack on Konoha. Their renewed alliance is marked by mutual contempt and separate ambitions 132 140.
• Uchiha Fugaku — Political opponent whose rise to Hokage Danzo attempts to prevent; Fugaku ultimately leads the mission to capture him 126 148.
• Uchiha Itachi — A prospective weapon against the Uchiha. Danzo exploits his suspicion of his father and clan while mocking his self-appointed responsibility to save the world 139 140.
• Sarutobi Asuma — Chosen for Danzo's reanimation experiment and subsequently revived as an intelligence source 139 140.
• Hyuga Hitoshi — Offers sarcastic support after Danzo's diplomatic failure. Danzo later seeks Hikari's power as a means of challenging Hitoshi and the Sun God Country 62 140.
• Uchiha Hikari — Target of the Konoha attack; Danzo covets Yachihoko rather than any personal connection with her 140.
• Uchiha Madara — Intended final trump card against Hashirama; later becomes the Second Root Shadow after Danzo's death 141 148 156.

Notable Quotes

“Enough, Sarutobi! I'm the one getting things done!” 60

“With three strategies, I intended to crush Kumogakure in one decisive push and even Go Further by invading the Land of Lightning!” 60

“It is small, but it is quite suitable for developing in secret.” 132