A colorful cast of villains is atNaruto’s center, but one was never a villain at all—despite whatever many fans insist. As a result of Kishimoto’s desire to depict empathetic villains,the antagonists inNarutohave an uncomfortable tendency of showing flawsin the social and political order of the shinobi world. The hardest thing to come to terms with as aNarutofan is thatsome of its most heinous faces have entirely reasonable motivations behind their worst actions.
This double depiction of Konoha and the shinobi world isn’t restricted toNaruto’s antagonists. Many characters who are considered heroes also commit morally questionable acts. It’s easy to forget that even beloved, fan-favorite characters such as Jiraiya and Tsunade were soldiers in a war, and as such they have killed an unknown number of people. Still, there are some characters that fans have been quicker to judge as “evil”, perhaps because their depiction in the series has been less nuanced. For one of them, however, the common judgment is completely wrong.
Danzo Shouldn’t Be Considered a Villain in Naruto
The Rivalry Between Danzo and Sarutobi Is Too Important To Dismiss
Danzo isone of the most important characters inNaruto Shippuden, andalso one of its most misunderstood. By no means could he fairly be called an antagonist. In fact, even ifNaruto’s fans don’t like him, it’s a problem they have to take up with the franchise’s world itself. I also think that if they can look a little deeper, he’s also among the franchise’s most compelling characters.
It’s easy to forget that theNarutoworld’s political structuresaren’t all that old. Anybody familiar withNarutowill be aware of the relationship between Danzo and Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. Both were around for the First Great Ninja War, and both had the opportunity to meet the first Hokage, Hashirama.
The founding of Konohagakure was fraught, and the feuds and rivalries that birthed (and persisted alongside) its founding would be in living memory for both. Danzo and Sarutobi differed significantly in how they thought the village politics should be handled, butboth legitimately wanted the best for the young village. When Sarutobi became Hokage and made Danzo the leader of the Root, a covert operations group within the secret police that had been erected by Tobirama, it was a deliberate choice to give Danzo executive discretion.
Sorry Kurama & Sasuke, But Naruto’s Real Best Friend Is Another Fan Favorite Shinobi
Naruto’s friends are plentiful, helping him get through cavernous lows, and assembling to celebrate his greatest highs, but one stands above the rest.
In fact,people like Danzoonly exist because of people like Sarutobi, whose desire to appear kind and amicable actually covers over passivity. Danzo took on the role that he did because he existed partly to take the fall for passive leaders like Sarutobi. Danzo, in effect, “did what he had to do”—but the things he “had to do” existed because of the broader shinobi system. As an individual, Danzo’s subversive efforts against Konoha obviously weren’t good, but he wasn’t some “pure evil” villain, either. If anything, Danzo is the closest Naruto gets to depict modern-day shinobi: intelligence operatives and leaders who get their hands dirty with covert action because the political leaders can’t.
Danzo Lived Up To The Shinobi Ideal In His Own Way
Naruto Fans Shouldn’t Blame Danzo For What The Shinobi World Created
One of the most interesting things about Danzo is that he generally acted in a way he perceived as being in Konohagakure’s best interest. In fact, his allegiances and debts to Konoha ran deep. When Sarutobi wanted to bring the Third Great Ninja War to an end, Danzo was concerned thatit would be disrespectful to the countless Konoha shinobi who died in the conflict. Even his actions pertaining to the Uchiha clan, ultimately, root back to his beliefs about what would be best for Konoha.
Many fans disdain Danzo for the way he essentially made Itachi the scapegoat of the operation that destroyed the Uchiha clan. While it’s a detestable action on its own, it’s also worth mentioning thatDanzo didn’t invent his own distrust of the Uchiha. The secret police forces went back to Tobirama, and the feud between the Senju and the Uchiha clans predated the Kage system itself. Danzo is only guilty of carrying forward the prejudices of his predecessors and taking them to their natural conclusion.
His distrust of the Uchiha also wasn’t necessarily misplaced, even if his actions were regrettable. The idea that the Uchiha clan might rise up in a coup against Konoha had a basis in reality, and more than that, Konoha had always worn its prejudices against the Uchiha on its sleeve.This was Madara’s own (entirely fair) concern and motivation, and when later Uchiha followed in his footsteps, it was anatural evolution of the conflicts that had already been in place.
Danzo’s actions were often a bizarre mixture of self-serving self-gratification anda sincere desire for Konoha to endure for a long time. He certainly wanted to become Hokage himself, and his work with Orochimaru to make himself stronger is questionable, at the very least. However, it was shinobi morality itself that carved out a space for his unsanctioned actions. Danzo, essentially, acted on the same desire to be remembered as a great shinobi as, say, Jiraiya—he just did so in a completely different way.
Naruto’s World Has Always Created Its Own Villains
From Akatsuki To Madara, The Shinobi World Always Cultivated Its Own Resistance
One of the biggest criticisms one can lob at Danzo is the duplicitous way he treated Amegakure, Akatsuki, and Hanzo. Danzo, however, was only ever a creation of the shinobi world itself inthe same way that Akatsuki and Hanzo were. Amegakure, for example, only needed Danzo’s intervention because of the way that Konoha and other major villages had been fundamentally destabilizing it for a very long time. Danzo was, in effect,one part of a bigger problem.
Although it’s uncomfortable to admit, too,Konoha’s interests always demanded the covert calculation of somebody like Danzo. The idea that Konoha’s politics could only ever be handled above board is absurd. Even continuing into theBorutoera, Konoha acts more or less as a surveillance state, unafraid of torture, execution, sabotage, and espionage. It goes without saying that insofar as “ninja” must be in the shadows,a ninja society would need some power operating within the shadows as well.
Naruto’s Last Battle Is Actually a Genius Callback to Kishimoto’s Original Idea for the Manga
The climactic final battle of Naruto features two of its most important characters settling their differences with a surprising pop culture reference.
Danzo is an absolutely despicable character, buthe isn’t a villain and he was never one. Danzo has always represented something that lingers just on the surface ofNaruto’s world—something that isn’t supposed to be noticed or communicated. For all intents and purposes, for the Kage system and the shinobi order to be upheld, someone like Danzo, doing what Danzo did, would have to exist. That isn’t a fatal flaw with Danzo as a character, and it doesn’t make him evil.
As far as the morality ofNaruto’s own world goes, Danzo was far from evil. Above all, he wanted to uphold Konoha and live up to the ideal of the honorable shinobi who can stand the test of time to live on in people’s memories. He was willing to make massive sacrifices to protect Konoha and get his hands dirty in ways that others wouldn’t dare to do.
Again, this doesn’t redeem him, but it does serve as a wake-up call in my eyes.Danzois one ofNaruto’s most hated characters, and for good reason. At the same time, he was never a villain in terms of the shinobi world. In fact, he was in many ways a hero: I think it’s a shame not to see that as a reflection ofNaruto’s mixed messages and the structure of Konoha itself.
Naruto
Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.
