I said it before but Danzo got shit done and Hiruzen let him because he was a pussy.
Danzo did what was necessary for the village and Hiruzen spent his time dicking about with the school children and letting his psychotic student run amok and stage a rebellion that nearly destroyed the leaf.
Danzo is the GOAT.
It always baffles me when people praise the shit out of figures like Danzō and Tobirama. I mean, have you not read the manga at all? Have you paid so little attention that you fail to see how such figures perpetuate the Cycle of Hatred that is machinated by the current shinobi system, that they're responsible for the Orochimaru's and Itachi's of the world? Think about every notable villain in the manga.
Zabuza was directly spawned by the shinobi system through an archaic and bloody rite of passage that fucked him up for life. Orochimaru, Sasori and Nagato all lost their loved ones due to war and went down a path of darkness because of it.
Kisame became disillusioned by the big fucking lie that the whole machine was and went rogue. Sasuke lost his entire clan and went rogue. Kakuzu was cast out of his village for failing to assassinate Hashirama and went rogue.
Gaara is just another example of this shit.
Hey, fuck it, so are Kabuto and Sai and all the other operatives Danzō recruited from a young age to become his tools.
It's people like Danzō and Tobirama that keep supporting this broken fucking machine that keeps coming back to haunt them, and yet so many people have nothing but praise for the two.
Here's how I see it.
Danzō was a shortsighted, insecure, warmongering prick that acted pre-emptively and behind Hiruzen's back like a true coward to massacre the entire Uchiha clan, weakening Konoha as a whole. The Uchiha were dissatisfied with their situation and plotting a coup, yes, but who was responsible for that? The blame doesn't lie with them alone. Tobirama was responsible for isolating them in the first place and making them enforce the law which made them unpopular.
Also, what the fuck, Hiruzen is the pussy? The God of Shinobi that choose not to outright annihilate the entire Uchiha clan with full force once he knew of their plot but instead tried to fix things before they got out of hand - like, you know, a real leader would do? Killing those that disagree with you with overwhelming force is easy. Keeping the family together by working shit out is hard. Only a pussy does what's easy, and it takes someone of real character to do what is right, even when it costs them.
So, yeah, how did that play out again? Right. Danzo's stupid ass decisions came back to bite him in the ass. He got murdered by Sasuke before he could become Hokage, and he got lucky he went out that easy, because he sure as fuck deserved more suffering and humiliation than he got before he failed in his suicide-homicide attempt.
If Sasuke hadn't gotten his head out of his ass and realised he had been manipulated his entire life, he might have turned into a new Madara and fucked things up even more.
Tell me how Danzō is the GOAT again.