Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-18016240-20160208110013/@comment-26773508-20160311155655

@Thekillman: Yes Tobirama indeed had a part in creating the chain of events leading to the Uchiha Massacre and other messed up parts. The thing that irritates me, however, is how much the fandom ignore Madara and Obito's actions, as if Tobirama is completely responsible for their evil as well. At the end of the day, it was Madara and Obito's actions that directly led to the massacre.

@MIGshinobi:

1) Tobirama spent a lifetime studying the Uchiha and the Sharingan. Everything he said about the Uchiha is spot on. The Sharingan is usually activated after the Uchiha in question goes through some enormous distress. The Mangekyo is activated after the Uchiha suffers from soul-shattering emotions (usually after losing someone precious).

Face it, the engine that drives the Uchiha's OP powers is negative emotions like hatred and despair. It is perfectly rational to be afraid of a clan who are not only OP, but whose special and OP powers are almost entirely driven by negative emotions.

Tobirama claims that he saw quite a few Uchiha in his own lifetime who went the Obito way. He also admits that there were a few good Uchiha like Kagami. But Tobirama heavily implies that Kagami was the exception, not the rule. We all know Tobirama is the most rational of all the Kages so far. It's highly unlikely that Tobirama would let his clan's rivalry with the Uchiha cloud his judgement. This is a guy who has studied the Uchiha very thoroughly, and his analysis is indeed right on spot.

2) And yes, solely blaming Tobirama for the Uchiha Massacre indeed is the hindsight fallacy. Human society, politics and psychology are so complex that Tobirama couldn't possibly have foreseen that his decisions would cause major shit 60+ years later. It's like blaming Neville Chamberlain for World War 2 instead of Hitler. Tobirama wanted to channel the Uchiha's strength into something positive. His policy failed 60 years later.

But why blame Tobirama alone? Why not also accept that a lot of the Uchiha were a crazy bunch? The Uchiha should have tried to negotiate and clear their names by cooperating with Hiruzen & co. in investigations regarding the Kyuubi incident. I can understand their resentment, but the first thing to do should have been cooperation with the village. The Uchiha weren't some super-privileged clan of Konoha who were above all others. They were citizens of Konoha, first and foremost. But they kept their clan so above the innocents of Konoha that they planned a coup against their own homeland. That's called treason in everyday English. And it's not Tobirama's fault that the Uchiha refused to negotiate.