Tobi


 * Name: Madara Uchiha (aka: Tobi)
 * Membership status: Active
 * Ring: 玉 ("jewel", "ball"; also the king in shogi)
 * Ring position: Left thumb
 * Partner: Deidara
 * First appearance: Chapter 280
 * Defining characteristics: Orange mask with single eye-hole covered in a swirl pattern concentrated towards the right Sharingan eye.

Madara Uchiha known as Tobi in Akatsuki, was formerly Zetsu's subordinate. Madara became a full Akatsuki member after Sasori's death and afterwards wore the same ring as Sasori having recovered it after his death and taking his place as Deidara's partner. After Deidara's death, he revealed his real name and that he had been the one giving Pein orders, making him the true leader of Akatsuki.

Personalities
Madara has a very formal and correct manner of speech. While his physical appearance remains a mystery, Zetsu implied that he is relatively young when one side of him referred to Tobi as a "good boy." He respects Deidara, referring to him as Deidara-senpai. Tobi's personality is rather odd in comparison with other Akatsuki members; while most of the members are dedicated and serious, Tobi is more carefree and goofy. His personality does not please Deidara, who believes that all Akatsuki members should be serious and calm. Tobi unintentionally irritates Deidara frequently, which usually results in Deidara attacking Tobi in a comedic fashion. Kisame, on the other hand, somewhat appreciates Tobi's ability to brighten up a gloomy organization such as theirs. However, when speaking as Madara, Tobi's personality and speech are completely different, as he speaks much less formally and is more serious and arrogant.

Unlike the majority of ninja thus far, Tobi has not been shown wearing a visible forehead protector; however, his Uchiha name would suggest that his home village is Konoha. He wears an mask which covers his entire face except for his right eye, which like other Uchiha clan members has the Sharingan. Furthermore, Tobi has several bolts or pins present on the arms of his uniform, obscured by his Akatsuki cloak.

Abilities
Tobi's area of expertise remains unclear, as he has never been shown fighting or utilizing jutsu. He and Deidara were able to defeat the Three Tails, but Tobi was never shown doing anything but running from it. After the battle, which goes largely unwitnessed, Tobi claims to have knocked it out with a single attack. Deidara disagrees with the assessment, claiming that it was his "artistic contribution" (exploding clay) that allowed them to win. During his fight with Sasuke, Tobi seems to show the ability to recover from what are presumably debilitating or fatal blows. After being slashed across the midsection by Sasuke's sword, Tobi collapses, only to stand up again a few seconds later and complain about the speed of the attack. He is also able to escape the final explosion created by Deidara. After he escaped he revealed he had the Sharingan, one visible through the opening of his mask. The demon fox mentioned that Madara Uchiha has more cursed chakra than his own, implying that Madara may be stronger than the fox itself. According to Jiraiya, Madara indeed summoned the Kyuubi to fight against the 1st Hokage at the Valley of the End, but was still defeated. He also claims that the Kyuubi was consciously released against Konoha, even though Madara is the only person ever known to control it, prompting speculation as to whether he could still be alive (implying that he has some sort of immortality jutsu).

Part In Story
Tobi first appears with Zetsu to retrieve the rings of Deidara and Sasori after their defeats. After finding Sasori's ring, Tobi asks Zetsu if he could join, who claims it isn't as easy as that. After Deidara was revealed alive, Deidara was quickly annoyed by Tobi, and choked him with his feet. Tobi later appears with Deidara and defeats Three Tails. During the battle, Tobi is seen doing nothing but running, but claims to have been the one to defeat Three Tails, though Deidara disagrees. During Deidara's battle with Sasuke Uchiha, Tobi provides support, helping Deidara seemingly by accident on multiple occasions, and later laying mines for him with a doton. After Deidara starts using C4, Tobi flees but is still in the area when Deidara's suicide attack is released. Zetsu reports that Tobi, as well as Sasuke Uchiha and Deidara have all been killed, however Tobi has escaped the explosion and traveled to the Rain village to meet with Pein (and Sasuke has escaped as well). During the meeting with Pein, Tobi refers to himself as Madara Uchiha and tells Pein to personally capture Naruto Uzumaki. Later on, Jiraiya reveals that Madara Uchiha is the ninja that battled and was defeated by the 1st Hokage at the Valley of the End. It was speculated by Jiraiya that Madara may possess the ability to summon the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a beasts said to come where human malice appears and grows, and lured it to attack Konoha. Jiraiya suggests that the demon fox was being controlled when it attacked Konoha at the time of Naruto's birth, and brings up Madara as the only person known to be capable of this.

Past Speculation
Before Tobi revealed himself to be Madara Uchiha some fans hypothesized that he could be Obito Uchiha, because his only one known working eye is the opposite of the eye that was inserted in Kakashi to replace his destroyed left eye in the manga-exclusive Kakashi Gaiden. And the spelling Obito is similar to Tobi, creating the fan reference of ObiTobi.

There are also speculations that Madara Uchiha is the third Uchiha clan member with the ability possess the Mangekyo Sharingan as mentioned by Itachi Uchiha.