Danzō Shimura

is a Konoha elder, one of the oldest villagers in Konoha. He is also in charge of the ANBU faction named Root. He is later appointed as the after Pain's invasion.

Background
In the past, Danzō competed with Hiruzen Sarutobi for the position of Third Hokage. When he was not selected for the position he created the ANBU faction named Root. Although the group was later officially disbanded, it remains active. During the Third Great Shinobi World War, Danzō agreed to help Hanzō of Amegakure in return for help in claiming the title of Hokage. He sent some of his forces to deal with the Ame Orphans, but they were all wiped out by Nagato.

When word reached Konoha's leadership of a planned coup d'etat by the Uchiha clan, Danzō was one of the elders to help in dealing with the issue. He took advantage of Itachi Uchiha's pacifist tendencies and convinced him to provide him and the other elders with information on the clan's actions. When Hiruzen's attempts to end the coup diplomatically failed, Itachi was ordered to wipe out the Uchiha clan. However, Itachi refused to kill Sasuke Uchiha, and threatened to share everything he knew about Konoha with rival countries if Danzō ever harmed Sasuke. He met with Madara Uchiha around this time for as yet unknown reasons. At some point, after Shisui Uchiha was killed, Danzō implanted Shisui's right Sharingan and arm into his own body.

Personality
Danzō is a calm and collected individual. Like the Root members that serve under him, he does not allow his emotions to surface. He has been seen losing his composure on only one occasion: when the Fire Daimyo was considering Kakashi Hatake for the position of Sixth Hokage. Danzō believes that Kakashi, like the previous five Hokage, would place morals and peace above Konoha's best interests and lead to the village's destruction. For this same reason he does not approve of Tsunade (the granddaughter of the First Hokage and a student of the Third), though he speaks to her politely.

Danzō seeks peace for the ninja world, one he would achieve by placing all shinobi forces under Konoha's control. To that end, he works in the shadows to ensure this future comes to fruition. He uses Root to eliminate potential threats to Konoha (with or without the consent of the Hokage) and to further him along the path to becoming Hokage, as he believes he is best prepared for the "necessary" transition. Because of the nature of his actions, Danzō cannot allow the details of what he has done become public knowledge, so brands members of Root with cursed seals to prevent them from revealing his secrets.

Danzō is not above using his enemies to achieve his goals. He worked with Amegakure in exchange for help with becoming Hokage, allowed Akatsuki to destroy Konoha to help him facilitate in overthrowing Tsunade, and has some history with Orochimaru. The Fourth Raikage believes Danzō worked with Orochimaru to kill the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage. He is, however, prone to breaking these allegiances; although Danzō promises Itachi Uchiha that he will not harm Sasuke, he nevertheless sends Sai to assassinate Sasuke.

His fellow elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, hold Danzō in high regard, and often took his advice when dealing with the politics of the village. It is unknown how much they know about his actions or if it is forced obedience though mind control that stops them from learning his true goals.

Sai and Sasuke arc
Danzō assigned Sai to Team 7 as a replacement for Sasuke Uchiha. Because of this, Tsunade assigned Yamato to the team as well, in order to keep an eye on Sai in case Danzō had other plans for him. During a mission, Sai made contact with Orochimaru on Danzō's behalf, proposing that the two join sides in order to destroy Konoha. Although believing this to be the evidence needed to prove Danzō works against the village, Yamato later discovered that Sai's actions were a ruse to get close to and kill Sasuke. When Sai proved unsuccessful and displayed attachment to Team 7, Danzō merely stated that "emotion brings hatred, and hatred brings war".

Fire Temple arc
In the anime, Danzō was shown being followed by ANBU agents, on Tsunade's orders, when he was to be briefed by Tatsuji, a spy of his from Amegakure. He and Tatsuji were apprehended and questioned by Tsunade, although the interrogation was interrupted by Sora, who was discovered eavesdropping.

Invasion of Pain arc
When Pain began his invasion of Konoha and Tsunade asked the toad, Kōsuke, to retrieve Naruto Uzumaki, Danzō killed Kōsuke to keep the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox "out of the way". Danzō was later shown with the members of Root, instructing them not to help with the defense of Konoha in the hopes that Pain's actions would give him the opportunity to overthrow Tsunade.

Following the invasion, leaders of the Land of Fire and Konoha gathered for an emergency meeting. Danzō convinced the daimyo that each of the previous Hokage had passed on a peaceful ideology to their students. This in turn made them too soft on military issues, resulting in Konoha's destruction. The village now needed a strong and firm leader who would enforce the laws of shinobi and bring order to the world. He stated that he alone was fit to be Hokage. After a brief consideration, the daimyo agreed to appoint him as the Sixth Hokage. Danzō was later shown to have the ability to manipulate the minds of others while remaining undetected, and he has been shown to not be above doing so to gain power. It is unknown, however, if he used this ability to become Hokage.

Five Kage Summit arc
When Danzō returns from the meeting he receives a letter from the Fourth Raikage informing him of the approaching Kage Summit and the actions of Sasuke Uchiha. As his first order, Danzō orders Sasuke be executed as a traitor to the village.

While preparing for the Kage meeting, Danzō gives a number of tasks to Root members. Because of Naruto's actions during Pain's assault he has become a hero of the village. Although he would prefer confining Naruto to protect the demon fox, Danzō still needs the support of the Jōnin to officially become Hokage, so settles for keeping Naruto watched at all times. In regards to Anko Mitarashi's search for Kabuto Yakushi, Danzō put off Anko's assassination. He instead instructs Root to find Kabuto before she does, hoping Kabuto will be able to heal his eye and arm.

Danzō departs for the Kage Summit with Torune and Fū as his bodyguards. They are attacked by remnants of the Land of Wood along the way, but Danzō neutralizes them singlehandedly with his Sharingan. Upon arrival in the Land of Iron and the meeting's start, Danzō does not actively participate, only reporting to the other Kage Madara Uchiha's involvement with Akatsuki. Mifune suggests that the five Kage unite their village's efforts to bring down Akatsuki, and, because Konoha's Nine-Tails is the only tailed beast that has yet to be captured, nominates Danzō as the leader.

Ao becomes suspicious about the proceedings and uses his Byakugan to expose Danzō's manipulation of Mifune. Before he can be pressed on the matter, Zetsu appears and reveals that Sasuke is nearby. The Raikage leaves to eliminate Sasuke, but instructs Ao to keep an eye on Danzō. When Sasuke arrives at their location, Danzō and his bodyguards flee, with Ao in close pursuit. Danzō orders Fū to stop Ao, and if possible retrieve his Byakugan. Fū is able to get Ao off their trail but cannot retrieve the Byakugan.

On their way back to Konoha they are confronted by Madara Uchiha. Danzō instructs Fū and Torune to distract Madara while he unseals his arm. Once he is ready, Madara reveals Sasuke Uchiha. Danzō, revealing that his arm is encrusted with Sharingan, voices his intention of adding Sasuke's and Madara's to his collection.

Danzō then springs at Sasuke, and attacks him with his Sharingan-covered arm. Sasuke, however, blocks the attack with Susanoo, and then grabs Danzō with Susanoo's arm. He proceeds to ask Danzō whether he really ordered Itachi to kill the Uchiha clan. Danzō admits that he did, and then states that many other ninja have died in the manner of Itachi, and that such shinobi are the cost of peace in the shinobi world. Sasuke then crushes Danzō with Susanoo, telling him never to speak Itachi's name again. Danzō, however, had maneuvered behind Sasuke unnoticed, and prepares to attack, while proclaiming that the battle will have to be between their eyes.

Abilities
Sai stated that Danzō placed a cursed seal on every Root member. The seal prevents them from revealing any information on Root or Danzō. The seal activates when the the wearer speaks about anything relating to Danzō or the Root, and will paralyze and mute the member in question completely.

In battle, Danzō seems to have some Wind Release technique that allows him to slash through his assailants after making the necessary hand seals before spinning around while exhaling. He is also quite skilled with a sword, killing many more assailants with one.

Shisui's Sharingan and Arm
Danzō is in possession of Shisui Uchiha's Sharingan in his right eye, which he keeps hidden under bandages. It is apparently damaged, as the sclera is not white. Despite this, he is very adept with it, detecting seventeen assassins hidden inside a forest. It's also been stated by Ao that Shisui's Sharingan was capable of manipulating others without their knowing, leading to speculation that he is using Mifune. Danzō eventually admits it, but states that he can only do it once a day.

Danzō's arm also belonged to Shisui Uchiha. It is revealed that it has numerous Sharingan implanted into it, though he keeps it sealed to a degree until the need arises. Their purposes and abilities are yet unknown, but he intends to add both Sasuke and Madara's Sharingan to it.

Danzō also claimed that Orochimaru's research notes held by Kabuto Yakushi, would be very helpful for (Shisui's) Sharingan and arm, but that could mean either adapting to them better or repairing potential damage.

Trivia

 * Judging Tsunade and Shizune's reaction to a picture they saw in an anime omake, Danzō was quite handsome in his youth before the Great War.
 * Danzō, possessing the Sharingan, is one of four people to possess a Kekkei Genkai despite not being a member of the appropriate clan, the others being Kakashi Hatake, Tenzo, and Ao.
 * Danzō's name may be a reference to Kato Danzo, a noted ninja master during the time of the Sengoku period of Japan.

Quotes

 * (To Sai) "Emotions lead one to hate...and hate leads one to conflict and war..."
 * "To be a shinobi is to sacrifice oneself. Closing your eyes to the sunlight, distinguishing yourself in the shadows. That is the true form of ninja."