Danzō Shimura

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

Background
In the past, he competed with Hiruzen Sarutobi for the position of Third Hokage. His desire for obtaining the said status was so great, that he even, at one time, secretly aligned himself with Hanzō of the Rain Village. He created the ANBU faction named The Foundation, and acted as its head. He is now disabled, but still wields enormous political clout. However, it is known that, during the Second Ninja World War, he was still an active shinobi, although he had already needed a covering for his eye. Nagato stated that Danzo had allied with Hanzō in the hopes of gaining his aid in becoming Hokage, which implied that Danzo's treachery began years before.

He even took part in the dealings with the Uchiha clan, when Konoha learned that they were planning a take-over of the village. He planted Itachi Uchiha as a spy in his own clan, and it is assumed that he had ordered the annihilation of the clan in order to avoid a civil war which would lead to the destruction of the village. However, Itachi refused to kill Sasuke Uchiha, and threatened to go public with the assassinations, as well as the village's secrets and weaknesses, if Danzo ever harmed Sasuke.

Personality
Danzo is a blunt tactician, which is demonstrated by his preference of eliminating threats and ordering them to be executed instead of using negotiation. He is also willing to use anyone, even his enemies, to achieve his goals. The most prominent example of this is Akatsuki, whom he used as a way to weaken Konoha so as to overthrow Tsunade.

Although not an official part in the affairs of Konoha, he still maintains an eye on everything. He will immediately act if he sees anything that might look like a threat to Konoha with or without the consent of the Hokage. His fellow elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, hold him in high regard, and have often taken his advice when dealing with the politics of the village.

Even though he addresses Tsunade politely, he does not approve of her. This is mainly because she is the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, and, like Hiruzen, has inherited the same teachings and philosophy as him, something that Danzo opposes.

Despite showing public care and loyalty to Konohagakure, Danzo, in truth, wanted to overthrow Tsunade and become Hokage himself, believing that he alone knows what is best for the village's future. His desire to become Hokage was so great that he was willing to align himself with Hanzō of the Rain village, as well as allow Akatsuki to attack the village and wait until the moment was right to make his move. This shows Danzo is both extremely prideful and conniving.

Despite the Foundation being loyal to him, Danzo was still cautious and had Cursed Seals placed on their tongues. This shows that Danzo is both very secretive and disregards the moralities towards his own subordinates.

Also, despite promising Itachi that he would spare Sasuke's life (especially under a threat), Danzo still ordered Sai to assassinate him, even when Itachi was still alive at the time. After Itachi died and Danzo was elected as Hokage, he ordered Sasuke's official elimination. This proves that Danzo is not a man who would keep his promises, and that he is unafraid of threats that would injure the village.

Danzo's plan is to manipulate Konoha from the shadows without people knowing it is him so no-one knows what he is doing.

Sai and Sasuke arc
Danzo 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 Danzo had other plans for him. During a mission, Sai made contact with Orochimaru on Danzo's behalf, proposing that the two join sides in order to destroy Konoha. Although believing this to be the evidence needed to prove Danzo 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, Danzo merely stated that "emotion brings hatred, and hatred brings war".

Fire Temple arc
Danzo was later 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, Kosuke, to retrieve Naruto Uzumaki, Danzo killed Kosuke to keep the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox "out of the way". Danzo was later shown with the members of the Foundation, 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. Danzo convinced the daimyo of the Land of Fire that each of the previous Hokages had passed on a peaceful ideology to their students. This in turn made them too soft on military issues, resulting in Konoha's current crisis. 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 short time spent considering, the Daimyo agreed to appoint him as the Sixth Hokage. Upon reading the letter from the Raikage delivered by Samui, Danzo's first action as Hokage was labelling Sasuke as a missing-nin to be killed by the village.

The Summit of the Five Kage arc
Even though Danzo has been appointed as Hokage by the daimyo, he still requires the votes of the Jonin to officially acquire the position. So, as acting Hokage, Danzo ordered his subordinate, Sai, to keep an eye on Naruto. Sai asked him what his plans would be. Danzo replied that Naruto is now a hero to Konoha, and he is more trusted by the citizens than himself. Naruto could sway the vote for Hokage out of Danzo's favor, so Danzo does not plan on making any moves against him. However, Naruto is still the container for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and eyes must be kept on him at all times. Danzo added that he would not be as weak as Tsunade.

Before heading off to the Kage summit, when a Foundation member suggested assassinating Anko Mitarashi, Danzo belayed that. He instead ordered them to find Kabuto Yakushi before Anko does, since Kabuto may know of his relationship with Orochimaru. He also indicated that the data Kabuto has on Orochimaru's experiments may be useful for restoring his arm and eye.

After leaving for the Kage Summit, Danzo was attacked by eight shinobi from the Wood Country's Hannya clan. He ordered his bodyguards to stand down and that he would take down the assailants himself, and he revealed the Sharingan under the bandages of his right eye. After killing the eight enemies, he saw seventeen more hidden in the woods, and killed them as well. It was after he killed the ninja assassins that he revealed his plot for the world, and that he believes that this philosophy and the meeting at the Kage Summit going well will gain him the permanent seat of Hokage.

During the meeting, the Raikage suggests that Danzo had some involvement in the invasion of Konoha. Danzo himself does not take an active part in the conversation, instead allowing the Kazekage, Tsuchikage, and Raikage to bicker. Mifune suggests that the five Kage unite their village's efforts to bringing down Akatsuki, and, because Konoha's Nine-Tailed Demon Fox is the only tailed beast that has yet to be captured, nominates Danzo as the leader.

Abilities
Sai stated that Danzo placed a cursed seal on every Foundation member. The seal prevents them from revealing any information on the Foundation or Danzo. The seal activates when the the wearer speaks about anything relating to Danzo or the Foundation, and will paralyze and mute the member in question completely. Danzo also seemed to have some Wind Release technique, that allowed 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. Danzo is in possession of a Sharingan in his right eye, which he keeps hidden under the bandages. It is apparently damaged, as the sclera is not white. Despite this, he is very adapted to using it, detecting seventeen assassins hidden inside a forest.

Trivia

 * Judging from a picture Tsunade and Shizune saw in the anime, Danzo was quite handsome in his youth before the Great War.