Naruto: What caused Danzo to become so evil? Explored

Among the extensive cast of the Naruto franchise, there have been a lot of villainous characters, the majority of whom were shown to be either broken or misguided, whereas some of them were just pure evil. Out of all of these characters, Danzo Shimura is perhaps the most evil and hated character in the series.

Making his debut in the Naruto: Shippuden series, Danzo was shown to be the founder and leader of the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu training subdivision. He had a significant amount of influence on almost all important decisions regarding the well-being of his village, which was also his first priority.

However, this ideology led him to commit some of the most heinous and sinister acts in the series, which solidified his status as one of the most despised characters in the Naruto franchise.

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Exploring the cause of Danzo Shimura becoming the most evil character of the Naruto series

Danzo Shimura is undoubtedly the most hated character of the Naruto series (image via Studio Pierrot)

Ever since his first appearance, Danzo Shimura has been seen to be driven by his goal of protecting the Hidden Leaf Village. However, the malicious acts that were committed by him to achieve it led him to become perhaps the most hated character of the entire series.

While there hasn't been any official explanation for Danzo just being downright evil, it's important to remember that he is a complex character who essentially believed that each of his heinous actions served the best interests of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Danzo Shimura represents the dark side of the Hidden Leaf Village and how an insatiable hunger for power may lead an individual to lose all sense of morality. In the shadow of the Anbu, he has committed several crimes that never saw the light of day.

By far, Danzo's worst action in the entire series was orchestrating the Uchiha clan massacre. He was shown to be the key figure behind the genocide, as he convinced Itachi to carry out his will, extracting the Sharingan eyes from the piling Uchiha corpses and embedding them into his arm, thereby gaining immense power.

Furthermore, he was also the reason behind the Hidden Leaf Village's destruction at the hands of Pain, since he killed the Messenger Frog of the Toad Sages, who was on its way to warn Naruto Uzumaki of the impending attack. This action led to the Village being razed to the ground, which is something that goes against Danzo's own goals. However, it can be speculated that he prevented the messenger from warning Naruto so that he could weaken the village and take over from thereon.

Danzo also caused Kabuto's downfall as a person, as he was responsible for the death of the latter's mother figure at a young age. Lastly, he tried to orchestrate the assassination of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, so that he could become the Hokage himself. However, his attempt was unsuccessful as Sarutobi managed to survive the encounter unscathed.

Danzo was involved in the majority of the important events in the Naruto franchise and was able to influence most of them for his own selfish purposes. As one can see, his obsession with power led him to commit some of the worst crimes in the entire series, which led fans to absolutely loathe his character. One can also argue that had it not been for Danzo's selfishness, the entire Fourth Ninja War could have been avoided.

He is an individual who thinks solely for his own benefit. While his initial intentions were aimed at the betterment of the Hidden Leaf Village, he eventually ended up destroying it himself. Believing himself to always be in the right, Danzo committed some of the most unforgivable crimes and caused a great deal of suffering to a lot of other characters.

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Final Thoughts

In conclusion, the reason behind Danzo's evil actions in the Naruto series has never been stated explicitly. However, one can infer that his obsession with absolute power and authority might have been the probable cause of his malicious nature.