Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Shimura Danzō; commonly called Danzo (团藏) 4 16
Alias(es)	Darkness of the Shinobi World 26
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Root; formerly Tobirama Senju’s Guard Platoon 16 37
Occupation/Role	Root leader; Konoha elder and Hokage’s aide 4 16 27
Status	Captured and tortured within an eternal Mangekyō genjutsu; whereabouts and survival unknown to Konoha’s leadership 35 36
First Appearance	Mentioned through his Root operatives’ attack 1; first shown directly confronting Hiruzen 4

Background / History

Danzo served alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi in Tobirama Senju’s Guard Platoon. Hiruzen remembers him as a young man willing to give everything for Konoha, while Danzo’s own recollections include their wartime camaraderie and his original determination to help the village prosper 17 35 37.

His pursuit of the Hokage position eventually displaced those ideals. He collaborated with Orochimaru on human experiments, suppressed talented villagers, and used Root to deepen the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha 4 35.

During the Nine-Tails’ attack, Danzo prevented Uchiha shinobi from joining the village’s defense. He later exposed Naruto’s identity as a jinchūriki and encouraged rumors intended to isolate him, hoping Naruto’s resentment would justify transferring him into Root’s custody for indoctrination 17 27.

Hiruzen’s investigation also connected Danzo to public-opinion campaigns surrounding White Fang’s suicide and Orochimaru’s defection. Danzo resented Hiruzen’s return to office after the Fourth Hokage’s death, believing the position should have become his 4 17 26.

Appearance

• Visible eye: Usually shown with a single exposed left eye; his transplanted right Sharingan is revealed near the end of his battle with Sasuke 16 35.
• Right arm: A bandaged transplant containing Hashirama cells and five Three-Tomoe Sharingan 29 30 35.
• Final condition: After escaping the Uchiha compound, he is bloodied, missing his right arm, and has exhausted all six transplanted Sharingan 35.

Personality

Danzo habitually presents his actions as sacrifices made “for the village,” even when pursuing personal power. He describes exterminating the Uchiha and appropriating their eyes, wealth, and corpses as contributions to Konoha’s development. The narration portrays this justification as self-deception sustained by years of lying 4 16.

His hostility toward the Uchiha is paired with intense greed for their abilities. Seeing three Mangekyō wielders fight does not deter him; instead, he imagines taking all three pairs of eyes and using their power to secure the Hokage position 26.

Despite his arrogance, Danzo is a cautious and opportunistic fighter. He attacks children by surprise, keeps Root elites nearby, and waits for opponents to exhaust themselves before attempting an ambush. Sasuke’s subtle genjutsu amplifies his existing impulses during their battle, contributing to unusually reckless decisions 27 29 32.

His fear of death ultimately overrides his declarations of resolve. After announcing that he will finally fight and die like a Hokage, he escapes at the last moment while insisting that Konoha and the shinobi world still need him 35.

Abilities & Skills

Wind Release

Danzo’s strongest conventional specialty is Wind Release, particularly its cutting and sharpness properties. Sasuke acknowledges his exceptional command of both chakra nature and shape transformation 28.

• Vacuum Blade: Extends a foot-long wind blade from a kunai. Danzo uses it in close combat and draws first blood against Sasuke 28.
• Wind Release: Shuriken: Enhances thrown weapons with wind blades; Sasuke destroys both the weapons and their chakra coatings with his lightning Heavy Blade 28.
• Vacuum Great Sphere: Produces an enormous sphere composed of numerous wind blades, providing cover while Danzo releases the seals on his right arm 28 29.
• Vacuum Serial Waves: Sends out large, crescent-shaped cutting gusts. Combining it with Baku produces an attack Sasuke judges capable of overwhelming his skeletal Susanoo 30 33.
• Combat limitation: His individual wind attacks fail against Sasuke’s Susanoo and lightning defenses 30 33.

Nintaijutsu and Body Flicker

Danzo combines rapid movement, weapon attacks, and Wind Release rather than relying solely on ranged ninjutsu 28.

• Uses Body Flicker to close distance and attempt to seize Sasuke’s Mangekyō Sharingan 30.
• Detects Naruto’s attempted rear ambush during the opening exchanges 28.
• Can wound Sasuke when the latter underestimates him, but is subsequently forced back by Naruto’s increasing speed and regeneration 28 29.

Sharingan and Izanagi

Danzo possesses five Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his right arm and another transplanted Sharingan in his right eye. Together, they provide up to six minutes of Izanagi use 30 31 35.

• Reality rewriting: Izanagi records his condition when activated and negates subsequent injuries or death by restoring that state 31.
• Duration: Each eye sustains the technique for approximately one minute, regardless of how many times he is killed during that interval 31.
• Cost: Each expended Sharingan becomes blind 31.
• Tactical use: Reappears unharmed behind Sasuke after an apparent death and repeatedly revives throughout the battle 30 31 32.
• Limitation: His version is less effective than Obito’s, and Sasuke knows both its mechanics and its time limit 30 31.

Hashirama Cells and Wood Release

Danzo’s transplanted right arm contains Hashirama cells, granting access to Wood Release 30 33.

• Violent Spear Tree: Causes his arm to swell and generates giant trees, breaking him free of Sasuke’s lightning restraints 33.
• Instability: The Sharingan’s Yin Release helps suppress the cells. Once the arm’s eyes are exhausted, the cells begin eroding his body and turning the arm to wood 35.
• Combat limitation: Sasuke shatters the generated trees with lightning, and Danzo’s Wood Release proves ineffective in the final exchange 33 35.

Summoning: Baku

Danzo summons Baku to support his Wind Release attacks 33.

• Baku inhales through its trunk to restrict Sasuke and Naruto’s movement 33.
• Its suction supports Danzo’s empowered Vacuum Serial Waves 33.
• Sasuke counters the suction with his modified Shinra Tensei and blocks the concealed wind blades with Thunder Protection 33.

Root Command and Political Manipulation

Danzo controls Root operatives who conduct surveillance, assassination attempts, and coordinated attacks on his behalf 1 15 30.

• Root members bear the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, preventing them from revealing information about him 1 2.
• Summons hidden elites from underground to attack Sasuke and Naruto while he attempts to steal Sasuke’s eye 30.
• Uses rumors to worsen anti-Uchiha sentiment and undermine Naruto’s sense of belonging 4 27.
• Coordinates with Homura and Koharu to pressure Hiruzen into political concessions 16 18.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Former comrade and longtime political rival. Danzo exploits Hiruzen’s tendency to compromise while coveting his office; Hiruzen eventually restricts Root and authorizes an investigation 4 16 37.
• Tobirama Senju — Former commander. Danzo invokes the Second Hokage while declaring that he will no longer shrink from battle 35 37.
• Sasuke Uchiha — Assassination target and principal opponent. Danzo first seeks his death, then tries to steal his newly revealed Mangekyō Sharingan 1 16 30.
• Naruto — Intended weapon. Danzo attempts to isolate and indoctrinate him, but Naruto joins Sasuke in repeatedly defeating him 27 32.
• Uchiha Fugaku — Clan leader targeted by Danzo’s extermination plot. Fugaku later submits captured Root members and recorded evidence of Danzo’s attack to Hiruzen 16 37.
• Uchiha Itachi — Swears to kill Danzo after mistakenly believing Root’s attack has killed Sasuke 4.
• Masked Man claiming to be Madara — Collaborator in the planned massacre. They negotiate an equal division of stolen Sharingan, though Danzo privately doubts his claimed identity 16.
• Unidentified Spiral-Masked Captor — Captures Danzo outside Konoha and subjects him to repeated torture within an eternal genjutsu; the supplied passages do not establish his identity 35 36.
• Orochimaru — Collaborator in human experimentation 35.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu — Political allies who accompany him when pressuring Hiruzen 16 18.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Forest of Death Assassination Attempt

• Five Root elites attack Sasuke and Naruto after Sasuke uses Shisui’s departure to bait them into the Forest of Death 1.
• Sasuke defeats the attackers and exposes their tongue seals to Shisui, leaving Root’s involvement difficult to conceal 2.
• Hiruzen orders Danzo to withdraw surveillance around the Uchiha and Naruto, retract Root’s influence, and cease interference with the clan 4.
• Sasuke interprets the assassination attempt as a plan to inflame Uchiha–village tensions through his death 5.

Planned Night of the Uchiha Massacre

• Two years after Hiruzen’s restrictions, Root surveillance becomes more frequent again 15.
• Danzo arranges a surprise attack during the Uchiha clan meeting, naming the operation the Night of the Uchiha Massacre. He demands that Sasuke die first and that there be no survivors 16.
• He promises his masked collaborator forbidden techniques and half of the harvested Sharingan 16.
• His attempt to pressure Hiruzen beforehand fails when the Hokage repeatedly asserts his authority and refuses the usual negotiations 18.

Battle with Sasuke and Naruto

• Danzo waits for the Uchiha’s apparent internal battle to exhaust their Mangekyō wielders, intending to seize their eyes and eliminate both the clan and Hiruzen 26.
• Cornered near the Uchiha shrine, he admits his alliance with an outside enemy and his plans for Naruto 27.
• Sasuke and Naruto overcome his Wind Release, Root support, Wood Release, and Baku while exhausting his Izanagi reserves. Sasuke deliberately prolongs the fight to test techniques and lure out Obito, who does not appear 28 30 31 32 33.
• After facing their combined Majestic Attire: Susanoo, Danzo escapes Sasuke’s final lightning strike by an unexplained means 35.

Capture and Investigation

• Danzo reappears outside Konoha with all six Sharingan blinded and his right arm gone. A spiral-masked figure immediately captures him 35.
• His captor repeatedly tortures and restores him within genjutsu while displaying records of his past actions 36.
• Sasuke’s search of Root’s base fails to locate him, leaving Konoha uncertain whether he survived 36.
• Recorded evidence of his attack leads Hiruzen to grant the Military Police Force broad authority to investigate Root 37.

Notable Quotes

“My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror. Everything I do is for the village.” 4

“After today, the Uchiha Clan will be erased from the Shinobi World, and I will reap three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan.” 27

“No! I cannot die! Bearing everything, absolutely everything, I cannot die yet!” 35