Obito Uchiha

was a chūnin-level shinobi from Konohagakure's Uchiha clan and a member of Team Minato. For unknown reasons, after his apparent death during the Third Shinobi World War, Obito took up the alias and became an international criminal responsible for various crimes. He eventually became one of the leaders of Akatsuki, and in effect one of the main antagonists of the series. In the past, he also operated under the name of "Madara Uchiha" and has plans of world domination.

Life as Obito
On the day that he was to become a student at the Konohagakure Academy, Obito arrived late to the opening ceremony. While most of his future classmates, including Kakashi Hatake, paid no attention to him, Rin immediately befriended him by handing him a packet of orientation-documents, which he was very thankful for. When Obito eventually graduated at the age of 9, he was placed in a team with Rin and Kakashi under the leadership of Minato Namikaze. The team later took part in the Chūnin Exams, where Obito arrived late for the second round in the Forest of Death having stopped to help an elderly woman with her baggage, leaving his team-mates waiting at the gate.

While in the forest, they were confronted by Might Guy, Genma Shiranui and Ebisu. Obito, wanting to impress Rin, immediately attacked the group, but as he seemingly prepared to use a Fire Release technique, he choked on the sweet the elderly woman had given him and was knocked out by Guy. In the gap between the second and third rounds of the examination, Obito trained earnestly to hone his skills and expressed his pride in his clan as well as his dream to become Hokage as their sensei had. He was, however, eliminated in the third round when he fought Might Guy; Kakashi, by defeating Guy in turn, was able to advance to the rank of chūnin. Some years later Obito would also achieve the rank, but this was overshadowed by Kakashi becoming a jōnin and the subsequent surprise celebration Rin was planning for him.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Kakashi was placed in charge of the team for a mission to destroy the Kannabi Bridge, which would thus hamper Iwagakure's invasion of Kusagakure. Before beginning the mission, the team gave gifts to Kakashi to celebrate his recent promotion to jōnin. Although Minato and Rin brought their gifts for Kakashi, Obito had forgotten. This strained the already-poor relationship between Kakashi and Obito, which Minato did his best to mend. Minato soon headed for the front lines to assist Konoha's forces, leaving the team to carry out their mission alone. The three were quickly discovered by Iwa ninja and Rin was captured.

Kakashi elected to abandon Rin, believing it was important to finish the mission before concerning themselves with her. Obito became enraged by the idea and insisted that they focus on her rescue. Kakashi would not be convinced and Obito left to save Rin by himself, remarking that, "those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Obito located the cave where Rin was being kept, but before he could stage an assault he was found and attacked by a camouflaged Taiseki. Kakashi, having had a change of heart because of Obito's parting words, arrived in time to shield Obito from Taiseki's attack, although his left eye was badly damaged in the process. To save his teammate, Obito awakened his Sharingan and used it to see through Taiseki's camouflage and kill him.

Obito and Kakashi entered the cave and released Rin from her restraints, prompting Kakkō to start a cave-in to trap them inside. They tried to make it for the exit but Kakashi had difficulty avoiding the falling rocks because of his damaged eye. When Obito noticed that Kakashi was about to be hit by a falling boulder, Obito pushed him out of the way and became trapped beneath the rubble in his place. With the right half of his body completely pinned, Obito knew that he could not escape. Obito accepted his fate and made an offering: to give Kakashi his left Sharingan as an apology for forgetting to get him a present earlier.

Rin performed the transplant and, once the procedure was finished, Kakashi used his new Sharingan to kill Kakkō. Iwagakure reinforcements quickly began to further constrict the rubble, forcing Kakashi and Rin to leave Obito behind after some final farewells. As the rocks tightened around him, Obito reflected that he had finally started to get along with Kakashi and that he couldn't confess to Rin that he loved her. Minato arrived soon afterwards and saved Kakashi and Rin from the Iwagakure ninja. They all believed that Obito had died and mourned his passing, yet he survived, but was terribly scarred.

Becoming Tobi
Obito's actions over the following years are largely unknown. He at some point became intimately familiar with the history of Madara Uchiha, a legendary Uchiha who helped on the founding of Konoha and had the power to control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. He also began to share Madara's ideas and beliefs: an animosity towards Konoha and its Senju clan; a special interest in the Nine-Tails and other tailed beasts; the Eye of the Moon Plan. Although Madara is believed to have died shortly after the founding of Konoha - an event that took place decades before Obito's birth - he is aware of Obito and his goals. The nature of their relationship is unclear.

Obito eventually assumed Madara's identity, something others believe was done to take advantage of the power that Madara's name suggests and the fear it brings. Because of the many infamous acts Madara carried out during his lifetime (such as acquiring an "eternal" Mangekyō Sharingan), few are surprised that Madara could still be alive after such a long time. They take the crimes that Obito commits under Madara's name as further proof that he is really Madara, as only Madara would be capable of such deeds. Not everyone has entirely believed the Madara-act, Kakashi being a frequent doubter, and they only refer to him as "Madara" in the absence of another name.

Until the events of Part II, Obito operated in secret, only using Madara's name during his private meetings with Nagato, the figurehead he uses to lead the criminal-organization, Akatsuki. Although Nagato believes that Obito really is Madara, the actual Madara also has some knowledge of Nagato's existence and abilities. Likewise, Obito has claimed that he encouraged Yahiko to form Akatsuki and that he "gave" the Rinnegan to Nagato. Both events occurred before Obito's supposed death, further complicating the truth of Obito's history.

Before he starts publicly operating as Madara, Obito uses the name "Tobi" during his interactions with others. He wears a swirl-pattern mask that focuses around his right eye: a Sharingan, the counterpart to the Sharingan he gave to Kakashi. Obito has been able to evolve this Sharingan into a Mangekyō Sharingan. Although his mask covers the left-half of his face, it is later revealed that he has a second Sharingan in his left eye. He has many other Sharingan in storage. Also in his possession is a sample of Hashirama Senju's DNA - acquired around the time of Madara's supposed death - which he uses to make copies of Zetsu. Zetsu knows that Obito is not Madara and persists in referring to him as Tobi.

Actions of a Masked-Man
A masked-individual acting under Madara's name is known to have been involved in a number of other incidents in the past. Because of the timing of these events, the suspect's hair (at times longer than what Obito wore) and the mask's design—a flame-pattern—that Obito is never known to have used, it is not known who was truly responsible. For convenience's sake, the following events will be attributed to Obito (Tobi) until proven otherwise:


 * Twelve years before the start of the series, Tobi discovered that Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, would be going into childbirth, causing the seal keeping the Nine-Tails contained within her to weaken. Tobi found where Kushina was being kept, killed her ANBU bodyguards and midwives, and took her son, Naruto, hostage. Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze, took Naruto back from him, in doing so separating himself from Kushina and allowing Tobi to flee with her. As the seal was breaking, Tobi used his Sharingan to put the Nine-Tails under his control. Since Kushina survived the extraction, Tobi tried to have the Nine-Tails kill her. Minato arrived in time to save her and retreat. Tobi, uninterested, summoned the Nine-Tails into Konoha and ordered it to destroy the village. Minato soon afterwards arrived to help in the village's defence. Before Minato could contribute much or even tell anyone what had happened, Tobi located him and tried to use his space–time technique to send him away and prevent further interference. Minato was able to use his own teleportation technique to escape, but Tobi pursued him. The two began fighting and Minato struggled to successfully strike Tobi. After several failed attacks, Minato finally hit Tobi with the Rasengan and branded him with a seal for his Flying Thunder God Technique, allowing him to teleport to Tobi whenever he wanted. He then used a Contract Seal on Tobi to remove the Nine-Tails from his control. Wounded and deprived of his best weapon, Tobi fled, stating that the Nine-Tails would be his again someday and that he still had other plans.


 * Eight years after the Nine-Tails' attack, Tobi infiltrated Konoha to try to rekindle the flames of war. He was found by Itachi Uchiha first, who convinced Tobi to spare the village in exchange for helping to wipe out the Uchiha clan for deserting Madara decades earlier. Tobi complied, training Itachi and providing assistance.
 * Around this time Tobi also met with Danzō Shimura.


 * Tobi took control of the Fourth Mizukage, in effect making him the "real" Mizukage, leading Kirigakure into the years of the "Bloody Mist". Kisame Hoshigaki was one of the few Kirigakure ninja to know of his manipulation of the Fourth and helped Tobi in his quest to bring about an end to the "world of lies".

Personality
As a child, Obito was constantly tardy, which he always insisted was because of good deeds he had done, such as helping an elderly woman carry her luggage. Although Minato believed these excuses, Kakashi did not. Obito was also prone to crying, which he always insisted was because he had gotten something in his eyes. Minato did not believe these excuses because of Obito's goggles. Obito was in love with Rin; he was always frustrated by her admiration of Kakashi's skills, and so constantly sought to surpass Kakashi. Although these efforts usually ended in failure, he was able to spend additional time with Rin while she treated his resulting injuries. He never had the chance to reveal his feelings to her before his "death". As Kakashi noted, besides his student's rivalry with Sasuke and one-sided feelings for a female team-mate, Naruto shared other attributes Obito had such as his desire to become Hokage.

After the events at Kanabi Bridge, by the time he became an adult, Obito's personality changed to become extremely calm and serious. While frequently arrogant about his own abilities and disrespectful of those he views as weak, he is not above giving praise to his enemies, such as his former mentor Minato for being able to wound him. He even respects Hashirama Senju to a degree despite his deep contempt for the man, stating that, even though Hashirama defeated Madara Uchiha at the Valley of the End, he has beaten Hashirama by thinking about the long term. He seems to hold a lot of resentment towards Kakashi Hatake despite the two being former friends and team-mates, praising his speed while berating him not to open his mouth so easily.

When first introduced as "Tobi", Obito acted the role of the happy-go-lucky idiot, who annoyed most members of the Akatsuki, particularly Deidara, who frequently attacked Tobi in a comedic fashion. Kisame, on the other hand, appreciated Tobi's ability to brighten up a gloomy organisation such as theirs. In the anime, Obito is shown keeping up this charade even when no-one was around. Eventually, Obito discards his role as the fool after Deidara's death and used it one final time to distract the Eight Man Squad during Sasuke's battle with Itachi.

Obito also a master of manipulation, either by subtly corrupting their own goals or by appearing to share their beliefs. This is best seen in the existence of the Akatsuki, its wildly-differing members working together because they believe the organization furthers their own ends; in actuality they are mere tools that suit Obito's agenda as with the case of Nagato. He often avoids responsibility for the influence he has over others, claiming those he coerced and manipulated followed him willingly.

Obito also "befriended" Sasuke and offered to help to destroy Konoha, however, it is most likely doing it in order to force him against Naruto even going as far as to omit parts of stories to his benefit. These parts include Obito being the reason why the Uchiha clan were accused of attacking Konoha with Kurama and ultimately the true cause of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

Revelaing Itachi's true history and motives with Sasuke to win his services was the first of many gambles Obito takes. Even though Sasuke does not always live up to his expectations, such as being unable to defeat the five Kage, Tobi is nevertheless happy with his "development": his ever-improving Sharingan and his growing isolation from all other allies. While he has threatened to kill Sasuke at times and even offered to turn him over to others, Obito remains attached to Sasuke, at least until he no longer has use for him.

After his ruse as Madara is exposed, being demanded by his opponents on who he really is and saying they can call him either "Madara" or "Tobi", Obito explains his true name is irrelevant and declares that he was not and will not be anyone. He nevertheless remains fiercely committed to his Eye of the Moon Plan, vowing to do anything to see it completed despite his conflicting opinions: he wants to dominate a world he has deemed worthless and full of misery.

Appearance
As a child, Obito had short, spiky, black hair and dark eyes. He wore a long sleeved blue uniform with metal plating on the part that reached the back of his hands, as well as a blue jacket with orange trimmings and collar. The jacket was fastened to the rest of the outfit by two buttons on the collar. He also wore a white belt, shinobi sandals, the standard Konoha forehead protector, and a pair of goggles with orange lens connected to ear protectors.

As an adult, Obito possessed many of the same facial characteristics he had during youth, with the exceptions that his hair is now black with a bluish tint and that the entire right-half of his face was severely scarred as a result of the injuries incurred due to the boulder that led to his supposed death. This disfigurement was somewhat reflected by the pattern on the left-side of the mask that he wore as Tobi when unleashing Kurama upon Konoha.

As Tobi, he conceals his identity from his enemies and even some comrades. To do this, he wears an orange, swirl-pattern mask that only shows his right eye. Beneath his mask, the right half of his face is badly damaged. Under his Akatsuki cloak, he wears a black long-sleeve top that also covers his neck and chin, a pair of black gloves, and a pair of dark-coloured pants along with the standard Akatsuki shoes and white stirrups. On his waist, he wears a thick black belt with armour-like metal plates attached to it. He wore the same metal plates on his shoulders with a green scarf before becoming Deidara's partner. He wore blue nail polish on his fingers and toes (black in the manga). As Tobi, he wore Sasori's ring on his left thumb.

After his original mask was badly damaged during his fight with Konan, Obito started wearing a new mask made of strong materials suited for the looming Fourth Shinobi World War, which was later destroyed by Naruto. The mask was white with a purple tint that covers the entire upper-half of Tobi's head with a design that resembled the Ten-Tails' eye, consisting of a ripple-pattern with three tomoe around the centre; two of these tomoe acted as the mask's eye-holes. Curiously, the third tomoe also served as another eye-hole. He wears a pair of black pants and gloves, with a white, presumed form-fitting shirt underneath. Over this he wears a purple, high-collared, long sleeve mantle that splits down the lower half and has the Uchiha crest on the back. Around his waist he wears a simple, light-purple obi and a belt. Strapped to his back, he carries a purple gunbai with black trimmings and black tomoe (red in the anime), connected to a black chain.

Abilities
As a child, Obito had some skill as a ninja, as he became a chūnin at the age of 11. As an adult, Obito admitted he is not as powerful as Madara was when he fought Hashirama Senju and is further handicapped by the Nine-Tails' sealing into various jinchūriki, depriving him of a powerful weapon. Inspite of this, Obito developed into an extremely powerful shinobi, strong enough to go up against top-level shinobi. He went toe-to-toe against his former sensei Minato Namikaze, who was Hokage at the time, defeated S-class kunoichi, Konan. He is also capable of holding his own in a one-on-four fight against Naruto, Killer B, Might Guy and Kakashi (the former two being fully trained jinchūriki, the latter two being top-level, experienced jōnin).

His chakra levels are immense, enough to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and Nine-Tails as well as maintain full control over his jinchūriki Six Paths of Pain. This constant use of summons and third parties has become a key element in Obito's fighting style as Tobi.

Taijutsu
As a child, Obito's skill with taijutsu was passable at best. After awakening his Sharingan, his hand-to-hand abilities improved and he also displayed skill in coordinated attacks alongside Kakashi. As an adult, Obito's skills grew tremendously. He is physically strong enough to stop a slash from Suigetsu's Kubikiribōchō with his bare arm, hold Konan off the ground, and strangle a Konoha ANBU to death, each time using only one hand. He can take a direct hit from a Rasengan without the damage affecting his movements, demonstrating great endurance. He is also fast enough to keep up with Minato even without the use of his space–time ninjutsu.

Space–Time Ninjutsu
With his right Sharingan, Tobi has access to a specialised Space–Time Ninjutsu. It grants him two distinct, yet similar, abilities: intangibility and teleportation. The eye serves as a gateway to a dimensional void, which he can instantly send parts of his body to and bring back from. This causes him to seem "intangible" in the original dimension; when struck, attacks pass right through him, though he sometimes pretends to be hurt or cry out in pain to toy with his opponents. Tobi must become solid in order to interact with others, leaving him susceptible to counter-attack when he does so. He can only make himself continuously intangible for about five minutes. He can extend this intangibility to whatever he's touching at the time.

The second part of his Space–Time Migration is to travel long distances within relatively short time-spans. While he is usually seen using this ability on himself, avoiding attacks rather than relying on his imperviousness, he can teleport anyone. When he teleports Karin and Sasuke, he sends them to what is a separate dimension. They are forced to stay there until he chooses to release them. The chakra signatures of those that have been teleported completely vanish. When being transported in this way, the target appears to be sucked into his right eye. Tobi must remain solid while this teleportation is used, and it takes longer to absorb himself than it does someone or something else. Minato Namikaze commended Tobi's space-time ninjutsu, dubbing it more versatile than both his own and Tobirama Senju's.

Overall, Tobi favours using his intangibility for defence, letting his opponents and their techniques phase through him and absorbing them while they are off-guard. This is such an effective fighting style that he has yet to be seen using more traditional forms of ninjutsu. The only reliable counter to this tactic has been Kamui; objects manipulated by Kamui and Tobi's space-time ninjutsu are sent to the same dimension. While on the one hand this leaves Tobi immune to Kamui, attacks targeted by Kamui can damage Tobi if he retreats to the dimension at the same time.

Sharingan
When Obito first awakened his Sharingan it already had two tomoe and he was able to take immediate advantage of it despite his inexperience. As an adult, Tobi seems to be able to keep his Sharingan active at all times with minimal drain on his chakra levels. He can use his Sharingan to perform various genjutsu, such as completely controlling the Fourth Mizukage, forcing Konan to revealing the whereabouts of Nagato's body, and trapping both Fū and Torune in a genjutsu for a considerable amount of time.

As Tobi he can use his Sharingan to place tailed beasts under his control, and is one of the only two Uchiha in history to be capable of it. He can maintain control over one beast very easily, but has difficulty marinating control over more than one at the same time, allowing beasts to temporarily break free in such instances. He can also perform Izanagi, a technique the Uchiha deemed a kinjutsu since the user's Sharingan is stricken with blindness and sealed away forever. While there are normally limits on how long Izanagi can remain active, Tobi has used Hashirama's DNA to extend the length of his Izanagi, allowing him to keep it going for ten minutes while only losing his left eye.

Mangekyō Sharingan
Obito awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan through unknown means at some time after giving his left eye to Kakashi. The eye itself, naturally, has the same design as Kakashi's and is reminiscent of a pin-wheel. It is through his Mangekyō Sharingan that he is able to perform his space-time ninjutsu, although he does not seem to need to activate the Mangekyō Sharingan to use it. He claims he can use Kamui as well.

Rinnegan
Tobi implanted Nagato's Rinnegan into his left eye, replacing the Sharingan lost to the usage of Izanagi. With the Rinnegan, Tobi can potentially master all five nature transformations and possibly use all the abilities of the Six Paths of Pain, since they are all Rinnegan abilities. He can use the Rinnegan to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Tobi used the Rinnegan to create his own Six Paths of Pain, made from the reincarnated jinchūriki by embedding chakra receivers in their bodies, allowing him to manipulate them. Each also has the same eyes as he does (a right Sharingan and a left Rinnegan), allowing him to see what they see and coordinate their movements. By combining the Demonic Statue with the Outer Path ability, he can create chains which he can use to suppress the tailed beasts' power. Tobi is able to use the chains to drag the beasts he controls into his own body or reseal them instantly inside the Statue.

Equipment
As Tobi, he has been shown with various weapons over the years. During the Fourth Shinobi World War he began carrying a war fan that Madara Uchiha was famous for during his life. Attached to the gunbai is a chain that is somehow connected to Tobi, which he uses to throw the fan as an alternate means of attacking and defending, as well as a method to get within proximity to absorb his enemies. During his fight with Minato, he used a long chain attached to braces on his wrist, resembling shackles. He used this in conjunction with his ability to become intangible, first allowing the adversary to harmlessly pass through his body before solidifying once again as they emerged from the other side, restraining them with the trailing chain. Just before the Uchiha clan massacre, when meeting with Itachi, Tobi was seen carrying a sword on his waist.

The mask that he wears during the Fourth Shinobi World War has been specifically designed for combat, making it very durable. The gunbai he uses also shares the durability, able to block a Rasengan. However the mask wasn't durable to survive a Tailed Beast Mode Rasengan.

He also possesses a set of giant shuriken stored in the other dimension, which he can instantly bring out to surprise and attack his foes. Aside from that he also has a set of chakra receiver stakes, used to both stab and produce chakra chains that can restrain a tailed beast.

Intelligence
As Tobi, he is an observant and sharp thinker, capable of reading through several forms of deception. He can formulate complicated plans well in advance and accurately predict how others will act in a given set of circumstances. Even on the rare occasions where Tobi is caught off-guard he is capable of creating counter-strategies while maintaining a calm and composed demeanour. He is flexible when the situation calls for it, using alternate means to achieve his objective when his original plan fails.

He possesses a vast knowledge of the ninja world, which allows him to almost immediately identify most forms of ninjutsu and counter them if necessary. He has also studied various individuals or groups for quite some time, aware of Guy's poor memory for faces, familiar with lesser-known abilities of the Aburame clan, and even knowing well-kept secrets like when and where Kushina Uzumaki would give birth. His knowledge extends far enough back through history that he regards stories of the Sage of the Six Paths as fact, whereas many others regards the Sage's very existence as myth.

Obito is also shown as an immensly skilled manipulator, being able to twist a person's beliefs and convictions into serving his purposes through direct or indirect manners such as Nagato, Kisame and Sasuke. Likewise he was able fully assume the identity of Madara Uchiha to manipulate the entire ninja world into a war due to their fear of the elder Uchiha's abilities.

Other Skills
As a child, Obito could use the clan's signature fire technique, a mark of adulthood in the Uchiha clan. Tobi has an aptitude with earth nature transformation, seen when he hides and moves underground. He can produce barriers that burn enemies on contact. He has some surgical skill, able to remove, preserve, and transplant eyes into himself and others. Tobi can also easily find others no matter where they are through unknown means.

Throughout the series, Tobi has lost several limbs. The loss does not seem to cause him any pain however, and a white substance is shown flowing from the wounds along with blood. He is able to recreate his limbs through an as-yet-unexplained method.

Stats
These stats reflect Obito's abilities at the time of his "death":

Kazekage Rescue Arc
After the death of Sasori, Tobi and Zetsu collect Sasori's ring from his body, which Tobi believes will allow him to join Akatsuki. They later find Deidara's disembodied ring arm, and later Deidara. Deidara asks for it back and, when Tobi refuses, Deidara strangles Tobi with his legs.

Three-Tails Arc
Tobi is accepted into Akatsuki as Sasori's replacement and made Deidara's new partner. Tobi is assigned to capture the Three-Tails. In the anime, they stopped to get a bite to eat at a dango shop during their search. Deidara anxiously waits for Tobi to remove his mask so that he could see what he looked like underneath, but Tobi turned away, hiding his face. When they finish eating they split up. Tobi eventually finds Konoha ninja using the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier and deduces that that the technique was to seal the Three-Tails. He informs Deidara of his discovery and they approach and kill the two ANBU put in charge of the sealing.

When they locate the Three-Tails, Tobi tries to convince Deidara to fight it in his place. While the Three-Tails chases Tobi, Deidara used one of his bombs on it while it was distracted. The rest of the battle goes unseen. After they defeated the Three-Tails, Tobi claims responsibility for the beast's capture, saying his technique was flawless and that it made sense to assign him to the mission. Deidara retorted that Tobi wouldn't have got far without his clay. Tobi fell asleep after making another cheeky comment, much to the anger of Deidara, who "woke him up" by detonating a clay bomb next to him.

When they get the Three-Tails to an Akatsuki base, the members of Akatsuki convene and seal it. When they are done they also seal the Two-Tails (the Two-Tails is sealed before the Three-Tails' capture in the anime).

Itachi Pursuit Arc
Akatsuki later receives news that Sasuke Uchiha had defeated Orochimaru. Furious that he was denied the chance of taking out the traitor, Deidara takes Tobi with him to kill Sasuke instead. When they track him down, Tobi greets Sasuke as a distraction while Deidara attacks with his bombs. Sasuke survives the blast and proceeds to run his sword straight through Tobi. After collapsing, Tobi stands up, unfazed yet complimenting Sasuke for the speed of his attack. Tobi provides support to Deidara for the battle's duration, but Sasuke keeps the advantage. Deidara ultimately resorts to using C0 in an effort to kill Sasuke at the loss of his own life. Zetsu reported to the remaining members of Akatsuki that Tobi had been killed too, prompting Pain to remark that he was easily replaceable.

Tobi meets with Pain and Konan in Amegakure shortly afterwards, abandoning the childish persona. Noting that Itachi will die soon and that Sasuke can be of use to them, Tobi instructs Pain to capture Naruto Uzumaki, the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. Tobi later confronted some Konoha ninja, temporarily acting the fool again, distracting them while Sasuke fought with Itachi. Zetsu then arrived to inform him that Sasuke had killed Itachi. Tobi pointed out that he had known that this would be the outcome, and gets to Sasuke before the Konoha ninja, taking him away.

Tobi tended to Sasuke's wounds and, when he woke up, offered to tell him about Itachi. Tobi tried to befriend Sasuke by removing his mask and revealing his Sharingan, something that triggered Itachi's Amaterasu in Sasuke's left eye against Tobi. Tobi retreats into the darkness while he puts out the flames, returning with his mask back on to muse about how Itachi never ceased to amaze him. After Sasuke asked what he was talking about, Tobi revealed that Itachi had most likely set it up so that the sight of his Sharingan would trigger the Amaterasu he had sealed within Sasuke. After Sasuke complained that he was making no sense, Tobi revealed that it was to protect him, and, when Sasuke still didn't believe him, Tobi introduced himself as Madara Uchiha. He proceeds to reveal to Sasuke the Uchiha clan's history, Itachi's secret life, and the true reason for the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Sasuke, regretting that he had killed Itachi now that he knew the truth, resolved to destroy Konoha for forcing Itachi into the life he had lived.

Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu Arc
After Utakata was captured, Tobi and the other members of Akatsuki extracted the Six-Tails from him.

Invasion of Pain Arc
Tobi convinced Sasuke and the other members of Taka to start working with Akatsuki, the two groups having Konoha's destruction as a mutual goal. Before they could do that, however, he stated that Akatsuki needed the two remaining tailed beasts. Since Pain was still working on capturing Naruto, Tobi sent Taka to capture the Eight-Tails. After Taka left, Tobi spoke with Zetsu, discussing Akatsuki's actions up to that point. He went on to say that, although they had lost five talented ninja in Akatsuki, all of their efforts had brought him closer to "making Sasuke his".

After Taka captured the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, Killer B, Sasuke gave him to Tobi for Akatsuki to seal. During the extraction process, it was revealed to be a fake: a severed tentacle made to look like Killer B. Tobi remains silent while Kisame - recently made aware of Tobi's identity as the previous Mizukage - commented that Sasuke had been fooled in his attempt to capture the jinchūriki. The tentacle does not go to waste as Tobi seals the tentacle, a fragment of the Eight-Tails' chakra, into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Five Kage Summit Arc
Irritated upon learning of Nagato's failure to capture Naruto and wasting the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique on the Konoha villagers he killed, Tobi sent Kisame to capture Killer B. Then he went to confront Sasuke, who was taking Taka to Konoha. Tobi told them they are wasting their time, Nagato having already destroyed the village, but convinces Sasuke to go to the Kage Summit to kill Danzō, the new Hokage and a conspirator in the Uchiha's assassination. Tobi instructs Zetsu to lead Taka to the Land of Iron, but when they arrive he has Zetsu reveal their presence to the Kage.

While Sasuke fought the Kage, Tobi met with Naruto, who was also in the Land of Iron. He tried to figure out how Naruto was able to cause Nagato to have a change of heart, but was caught by Kakashi Hatake and Yamato. Rather than fight, Tobi told them about the Sage of the Six Paths, the truth of the Uchiha clan, and Sasuke's descent into darkness because of it. They doubt the validity of what he told them, but he persevered, saying that Naruto and Sasuke are destined to fight someday before disappearing.

As Sasuke was about to be killed by the Kage, Tobi rescued him. He sends Sasuke away, sending Karin with him to heal his injuries. Tobi voiced his disappointment that Sasuke was not more of a match for the Kage, having hoped to take them hostage to facilitate his plans. He was nevertheless happy by the development of Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan in awakening Susanoo. He then explained his Eye of the Moon Plan to those in attendance, concluding by asking for their support by giving him Killer B and Naruto. They refused, so he declared the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War before disappearing.

Tobi intercepted Danzō while he was fleeing the Summit. Danzō has his bodyguards, Fū and Torune, fight Tobi while he prepared himself for battle. Although forced to remove his arm because of Torune's nano-sized, venomous insects, Tobi was easily able to dispose of the two. Tobi then teleported Sasuke and Karin to their location, showing Sasuke that he keeps his word by giving him Danzō. Tobi observed the battle and was glad when Sasuke is finally able to fully develop Susanoo. When Sasuke emerges victorious, Tobi approaches the dying Danzō to take Shisui's eye, which was implanted in Danzō's right eye-socket. Danzō activated the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique in an attempt to take Tobi and Sasuke with him, but they are able to get out of range in time. He collects Danzō's body and suggests that Sasuke take some time to rest.

At his lab, Tobi discovers that Danzō destroyed Shisui's Sharingan before he died. Cursing him, Tobi gets a new arm and makes plans to retrieve Nagato's Rinnegan to prepare for war. Before he can leave, Zetsu meets with him and tells him that Sasuke is in trouble. He returns to Sasuke and, finding him with Naruto and the rest of Team 7, again advises that Sasuke come with him to rest, noting that they can capture Naruto some other time. They return to the Mountains' Graveyard where, at Sasuke's insistence, Tobi implants Itachi's eyes into Sasuke before leaving him to recuperate.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
Tobi is soon afterwards confronted by Kabuto. Remembering that Kabuto was once an Akatsuki spy, Tobi tries to kill him for betraying the organization. Kabuto responds by using the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection to revive five deceased members of Akatsuki (Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Nagato, and Kakuzu), a demonstration of the sort of "pawns" he can offer Tobi in the approaching Fourth Shinobi World War. In exchange, Kabuto wants Sasuke.

When Tobi asked what would happen if he refused, Kabuto responds by summoning a sixth coffin containing Madara Uchiha. Horrified that Kabuto knows that Madara is actually dead, Tobi is forced to accept an alliance, but sets the condition that Sasuke will not be turned over until after the war. Kabuto agrees and sends the summons away. Still uneasy about the revived Madara, Tobi escorts Kabuto into his hideout so he can assess his battle strength and reformulate his plans for war.

Tobi later infiltrates Amegakure and is immediately confronted by Konan. He asks her where to find Nagato's corpse so that he can take his Rinnegan. He tries to buy back her cooperation by informing her of his involvement in Yahiko's creation of Akatsuki and Nagato's receiving the Rinnegan, but she doesn't believe him. Konan turns into paper and engulfs Tobi. He believes that she is trying to catch him when he materializes, but Konan had instead mixed in exploding tags with her paper. Tobi is able to warp the explosion away - saving both of their lives – but he loses his right arm and the upper part of his mask is broken.

Tobi asks why Konan and Nagato would place their faith in Naruto. She replies that Naruto is the light that will defeat the darkness that is Tobi. Konan then splits the lake beneath Amegakure, revealing six hundred billion explosives. She detonates them all over a period of ten minutes, longer than the five-minute period that Tobi can remain intangible for. He sacrifices his left Sharingan to use Izanagi and survive the attack (removing the upper left side of his mask to do so). Konan, believing he is dead, lets her guard down, allowing Tobi to stab her from behind with a pipe. She tries to get away, proclaiming that Naruto will lead them to peace, but Tobi catches her vows to become the "darkness" that crushes Naruto's "light". He places her under a genjutsu to force her to reveal Nagato's location and adds that she will die when the illusion ends. When Tobi finds Nagato's body, he interprets Nagato's smile as his continued betrayal before closing the eyes and teleporting the body away to the other dimension.

Once back at his hideout, Tobi replaces his blinded Sharingan with one of Nagato's Rinnegan while getting a new arm, a new outfit, and a new mask. Kabuto complimented him on his efforts to gain new eyes, but Tobi rebuffed the statement, claiming that they were his to begin with. When they receive intel from Kisame about the current location of the jinchūriki, Tobi decides to go capture them. Kabuto offers to go instead if he is allowed to see the White Zetsu Army, adding that he can makes the army stronger if he is allowed to study one of the Zetsu clones. Tobi complies. Much to Tobi's displeasure, Kabuto fails in capturing either Naruto or B, but does bring back Yamato. Tobi contemplated using the Rinnegan's Human Path to extract intel from Yamato. Because this would kill Yamato, Kabuto convinces him that they can extract what they need with a genjutsu and the proper drug. Kabuto uses Yamato to strengthen the Zetsu army.

Shinobi World War Arc
When preparations are complete the thousands of Zetsus and many of Kabuto's revived ninja mobilise for war. In the confusion, Kabuto also captures Anko Mitarashi. Tobi suspects that Kabuto led her to their hideout and believes Kabuto plans to have him and the Allied Shinobi Forces destroy each other. Although confident that this will not happen, Tobi orders Kabuto to kill Anko. Kabuto refuses on the grounds that he can use Anko to make the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection stronger, something that is in Tobi's best interests.

To alleviate his unease, Tobi demands that Kabuto demonstrate the technique and tell him how to defeat it. To that end he brings out Fū and Torune, who have been kept under genjutsu since they were captured. He breaks Torune's neck and tells Kabuto to use Fū as a sacrifice to resurrect him. Kabuto does what is asked of him.

When Zetsu later informs Tobi that Naruto and B are headed to the battlefield, Tobi decides to finally join the fray. He goes to the location of the First Division where he summons the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. While the Statue decimates the Division, Tobi seeks out the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei, which contain the Gold and Silver Brothers. Darui and Shikamaru conclude he plans to make use of the brothers' Nine-Tails chakra and try to stop him. He compliments them on guessing his intentions and has the Statue attack them while he escapes with the two items.

As dawn breaks on the following day, Tobi stands behind his own Six Paths of Pain, comprised from the deceased jinchūriki. Tobi leads the Six Paths towards Killer B and Naruto. Naruto headbutts Tobi as soon as they meet, to which Tobi only responds by pointing out that Naruto couldn't even scratch his mask. Naruto notices his new Rinnegan and remarks that it is the same as the "other" Madara's. Realising that Kabuto has revealed his secret, Tobi quietly curses Kabuto before shedding his Madara-identity, embracing the role of "nobody".

Tobi has his Six Paths engage Naruto and a transformed Killer Bee. B devastates the area in an attempt to force Tobi away while he seals the six jinchūriki, which Tobi counters by having the jinchūriki enter Version 2-like forms. As the jinchūriki overwhelm Naruto and B, Tobi takes advantage of Naruto's distraction and nearly captures him, only to be parried by Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake. In the confusion of their appearance, the Five-Tails breaks free of Tobi's control but he promptly subdues it. He then forces the Four-Tails and Six-Tails to fully transform in an attempt to take control of the battle. The Four-Tails is able to swallow Naruto, leading Tobi to believe that Naruto is finally out of commission. Instead, the Four-Tails manages to communicate to Naruto how Tobi is controlling it. Naruto escapes from its mouth, locates the chakra receiver embedded in the Four-Tails' flesh, and removes it.

With the Four-Tails free, Tobi quickly summons the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to reseal the beast. He has the remaining jinchūriki transform into their respective tailed beasts to try and finally bring the situation under his control. Despite the overwhelming power of the five tailed beasts, Naruto, working in full cooperation with the Nine-Tails, is able to neutralize all of them and free them from Tobi's influence. Like the Four-Tails, Tobi seals them back into the Statue. Despite the setbacks, Tobi remains confident that he will emerge victorious.

Sometime later, the revived bodies of the jinchūriki, having been kept restrained by a transformed Killer B, are released from the effects of the Impure World Resurrection, causing them to once again become lifeless corpses. As this could only mean that Kabuto has failed, Tobi realises that time is running out. With no other option he tosses the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei into the Demonic Statue's mouth which, in addition to the Eight-Tails' tentacle from the fake Killer B, completes the set of the nine tailed beasts, initiating the Ten-Tails' revival.

While the Demonic Statue undergoes its metamorphosis, Tobi protects it from Naruto, B, Guy, and Kakashi. Despite their combined efforts they are unable to get past Tobi or damage him. Tobi is even able to turn some of their own attacks against them, such as a lightning-infused kunai that Kakashi is forced to send away with Kamui. After this latter exchange, however, Kakashi notices that Tobi's mask takes damage. Unable to attribute the damage to any of their attacks, Kakashi tests a theory: after Tobi erects a barrier around the Statue, Naruto tries to hit him with a Rasengan. When the attack appears to pass through Tobi, Kakashi hits the Rasengan with Kamui, causing damage to Tobi's arm. Kakashi concludes that his Kamui and Tobi's Space–Time Migration share the same dimension; that attacks sent to the dimension at the same moment that Tobi has transported his body parts there for safety will do damage to Tobi.

Now that they have a strategy to use against Tobi, Naruto, B, Guy, and Kakashi begin to coordinate their efforts. One of Naruto's shadow clones attacks Tobi, but the attack appears to fail and the clone disappears. The real Naruto attacks immediately afterwards with a Tailed Beast Ball, which Tobi avoids by retreating to the other dimension. There he finds Naruto's shadow clone waiting for him, having been sent there by Kakashi's Kamui. Before he has a chance to react he is hit in the face with a Rasengan, shattering his mask. His face revealed, Kakashi and Guy recognise him as their old comrade, Obito Uchiha.

Video Games
The above-listed games refer to Tobi with his Madara-personality. In some games, such as Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, the Tobi-personality appears as Tobi's Awakening Mode. Obito, as he appeared as a child, is a playable character in Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 and Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations. Also in Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, Tobi is playable with the outfit he wore when he fought Minato Namikaze.

Trivia

 * Obito makes a cameo before his actual introduction in chapter 122 and Naruto episode 72 during a flashback of the Third Hokage, and on the cover of chapter 16.
 * Tobi can be translated as, or as . The latter translation connects Tobi with Taka through the Japanese proverb , meaning that an extraordinarily gifted child can be born from ordinary parents.
 * One of Obito's mask as Tobi appears in the ending omake of Naruto: Shippūden episode 129 along with Baki's face and Haku's mask.
 * Tobi appears to have a liking for dango.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Obito's favourite words were and.
 * Obito had completed 135 official missions in total: 86 D-rank, 24 C-rank, 24 B-rank, 1 A-rank, 0 S-rank.
 * As Tobi, his hobby is accompanying "Deidara-senpai".
 * His favorite phrase is given as.
 * In the video games, such as Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Impact, Tobi can use fire techniques even though he wears a mask; the same happens with Kakashi Hatake.

Quotes

 * (To Kakashi) "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash! If I'm going to be called trash either way, I'd rather break the rules! And if that somehow makes me anything less than a real shinobi, then I'll crush all of the so-called "real" shinobi!"
 * (To Kakashi) "I'm about to… die… but I'll become your eye… and see the future with you."
 * (Last words) "Just when me and Kakashi were becoming friends… I couldn't bring myself to confess to Rin… I wish I had more time with everyone…"
 * (To Minato) "Fourth Hokage… Minato. Back away from the jinchūriki or your son dies at the ripe old age of one minute."
 * (To Minato, about his reason for attacking Konoha) "Oh, you know… it's fun, it's part of my plan… to start a war… to bring peace…"
 * (To Kisame, about his Eye of the Moon Plan) "It will be a new world… A world of truth, not lies."
 * (To Pain and Konan)
 * (Thinking to himself) "The moment people come to know love, they run the risk of carrying hate."
 * (To the Five Kage) "The concept of hope is nothing more than giving up. A word that holds no true meaning."
 * (To Naruto and Killer B) "The war has already begun… My name no longer matters. You can call me by my old name, Tobi, if you prefer. Madara, Tobi… call me whatever you want."
 * (To Naruto and Killer B) " I'm no one… I don't want to be anyone. All I care about is completing the Eye of the Moon Plan."
 * (To Kakashi) "You've seen reality, you should be able to understand… No wish can become true in this world. That's why I'm pursuing the dream of infinite Tsukuyomi. I want to build a world where heroes don't have to make pitiful excuses in front of graves."