Tobi

is a major antagonist of the series. He co-founded Konohagakure and Akatsuki, and was once the leader of the Uchiha clan. When first introduced, he poses as, Deidara's partner in Akatsuki.

Background
Before the era of ninja villages, Madara was the most gifted member of the Uchiha clan. Even by his clan's standards, Madara's chakra was unusually strong. He grew up in constant competition with his younger brother, Izuna Uchiha. In their efforts to surpass the other, each gained their own Mangekyō Sharingan. With the power of the Mangekyō the two brothers took control of the clan, with Madara acting as its leader. Under his leadership, the clan conquered all they came across. Because of the never-ending series of battles of the time, Madara eventually began to suffer from overuse of the Mangekyō Sharingan, leaving him blind. In order to regain his sight he took Izuna's eyes for himself, granting him an "eternal" Mangekyō Sharingan with which he led the Uchiha to prosperity. Madara insists Izuna consented to the act.

Over the years, the Uchiha had constantly fought with the equally powerful Senju clan. To bring an end to the constant fighting, the leader of the Senju, Hashirama Senju, approached the Uchiha with an offer of peace. Although Madara never wanted peace with the Senju, the rest of the Uchiha wished to end the fighting, and Madara had no choice but to accept. The Senju, the Uchiha, and all the clans they had conquered came together to form the village of Konohagakure. Against Madara's wishes, the villagers selected Hashirama as the village's First Hokage. Madara feared that Hashirama would oppress the Uchiha, and tried to rally support for challenging his leadership. Rather than help him, however, the Uchiha turned their backs on him, believing he only desired more power. Abandoned by his clan, Madara left the village, later returning in order to challenge Hashirama in battle. They fought at the site that would someday be called the Valley of the End, where Madara used the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox against Hashirama. Control of the Nine-Tails was ultimately taken from him and Madara was believed to have died. Despite appearing to have been defeated and gravely weakened, he was somehow able to acquire a sample of Hashirama Senju's flesh to aid him in his future goals.

Twelve years before the start of the series, Madara 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. Madara found where Kushina was being kept, killed her ANBU bodyguards and midwives, and took her son, Naruto, hostage. Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, took Naruto back from him, in doing so separating himself from Kushina and allowing Madara to flee with her. As the seal was about to break, Madara used his Sharingan to put the Nine-Tails under his control. Since Kushina survived the extraction, Madara tried to have the Nine-Tails kill her. Minato arrived in time to save her and retreat. Madara, uninterested, summoned the Nine-Tails into Konoha and ordered it to destroy the village.

Minato soon afterwards arrived to help in the village's defense. Before he could contribute much or even inform anyone of what had happened, Madara located him and tried to use his space-time jutsu to send him away and prevent further interference. Minato was able to use his own teleportation jutsu to escape, but Madara pursued him. The two began fighting and Minato struggled to successfully strike Madara. After several failed attacks, Minato was able to hit Madara with the Rasengan and brand him with a seal for his Flying Thunder God Technique, allowing him to teleport to Madara whenever he wanted. He then used a Contract Seal on Madara to remove the Nine-Tails from his control. Wounded and deprived of his best weapon, Madara fled, stating that the Nine-Tails would be his again someday and that he still had other plans.

A few years later, Madara infiltrated Konoha to try and rekindle the flames of war. He was found by Itachi Uchiha first, who convinced Madara to spare the village in exchange for helping to wipe out the Uchiha clan for deserting him decades earlier. Madara complied, training Itachi and providing assistance. Itachi never truly trusted Madara, however, and kept an eye on him for the rest of his life.

Other actions
Madara has been shown or stated to have done a number of things during his life. It is unclear when many of these events took place or, in some cases, what they entailed. His known actions include:


 * Fighting Ōnoki.
 * Meeting with Danzō Shimura around the time of the Uchiha clan's assassination.
 * Taking control of the Fourth Mizukage, in effect making him the "real" Mizukage. Kisame Hoshigaki was one of the few Kirigakure ninja to know of his manipulation of the Fourth. Kisame helped Madara to bring about an end to the "world of lies".
 * Claims to have encouraged Yahiko to create Akatsuki.
 * Claims to be the one who "gave" Nagato the Rinnegan.

Tobi
To keep in Akatsuki's shadow, Madara eventually took on the disguise of Tobi, giving orders to Pain in secret. He wears an orange, swirl-patterned mask that reveals only his right eye. When he trained Itachi, he wore a similar mask with black flame-like patterns on it, and he had longer hair than he does now. His hair is cut short from the days of Konoha's founding, and he wears a uniform consisting of a number of bolts and pins, which is usually concealed by his Akatsuki cloak.

While acting as Tobi, he is happy-go-lucky and goofy, something that annoys most of the other members. Deidara, who believed all the members of Akatsuki should be serious and calm, was not pleased with Tobi's childish personality, and frequently attacked the latter in a comedic fashion when annoyed. Apparently, Madara is very committed to keeping his identity secret, as he has been seen keeping up his goofy appearance even when no-one was around (at least during the anime's filler arc). Kisame and Zetsu, on the other hand, somewhat appreciate Tobi's ability to brighten up a gloomy organization such as theirs. However, once his identity is revealed to everyone in Akatsuki, "Tobi" has abandoned his goofy nature and adopted Madara's personality.

Appearance
Originally Madara's appearance bears long, spiky shoulder-length black hair with a blue tint. Unlike Izuna, Madara did not keep it tied in a ponytail. He also wore the standard Uchiha clan's outfit: a high collared black shirt with the clan's crest on his upper back and blue pants with bandages at the ends, though Madara tends to leave the collar of his shirt open. On his waist, he had a bandage belt that held a sack that presumably holds ninja tools.

Upon declaring truce with the Senju clan and founding Konohagakure, Madara had let his hair grow even longer, to nearly waist-length. He also wore the village's forehead protector, and red armor, similar in appearance to those worn by the samurai and the Senju. Upon defection, he seems to have discarded the forehead protector.

Over the years, Madara has adopted the new appearance of Tobi: covering his appearance with various masks cutting his hair shorter and letting it grow out again. However, when the mask is taken off, it can be assumed that his face has grown wrinkled with age, as might be noted from his pronounced under-eye bags and creases. Until his fight with Konan, Madara's left eye had not been seen. Under his mask, he appears to have bandages on his forehead as well as having a Sharingan in his left eye until losing it to Izanagi during his fight with Konan, which was removed and replaced with one of Nagato's Rinnegan eyes. 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 blueish/black pants along with the standard Akatsuki shoes and white stirrups. On his waist, he wears a thick black belt with armor-like metal plates attached to it. Before revealing his true identity, he wore Sasori's ring on his left thumb.

After his fight with Konan, Madara's mask was changed to a purple one that covers the entire upper-half of his head with a design that more resembles the Ten-Tailed Beast's single eye, consisting of a ripple-pattern with three tomoes around the center, two of which make out the mask's eye holes. He also returned to wearing his Uchiha robes complete with the Uchiha crest on its back, belt sash, gloves and a purple bandanna that tapers off down to his back, as well as wielding his war fan.

Personality
Compared to his Tobi personality, Madara's true personality is considerably calmer and much more serious, but he still has a habit of joking around and disrespecting those around him. Despite his current limitations in battle, he is extremely arrogant, insulting even the strongest ninja and treating Akatsuki members as mere tools. During his duel with Konan, he looked down on her abilities as a ninja and shown some degree of contempt for her, until she destroyed his right arm and caused some injury to him. While speaking derogatorily about Pain, he still recognized his power as the strongest in Akatsuki and for possessing the Rinnegan. There are only a handful of exceptions that he admires, the most prominent being Hashirama Senju, whom he also despised the most. Despite his arrogance, he isn't above praising his enemies, like Kakashi for his speed or Minato for being able to wound him. Despite of which, he is fast to return to his egotistical persona, as he claimed to Konan that it was he who truly won the battle against Hashirama Senju, by "looking at the future". Madara was not above trying to harm an infant Naruto in order to get the upperhand against Minato.

Madara has shown great ability in manipulating others to do his work for him. Minato believed that he was using Pain's ideology against him in order to control him. He was also able to turn Kisame into one of his most loyal followers under the promise that he would release him from his pain by creating a "world without lies". He similarly befriended Sasuke in order to get him to join Akatsuki by telling him about Itachi's past, even though he has an apparent interest in Sasuke and his abilities. He appears to have a somewhat twisted outlook with respect to this, often avoiding responsibility by claiming that people acted voluntarily when they were really coerced or manipulated by him.

Madara has set his goals in getting Sasuke on his side to serve Akatsuki's goals. As such, he was pleased that when Itachi died, no one would be able to prevent him from telling Sasuke the truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Madara expressed disappointment when Sasuke failed to retrieve the real Killer Bee, and was worried that he may not be easy to control. He even threatened to kill Sasuke and his entire team if they ever dare betray him and Akatsuki. However, whenever Sasuke enters deeper into the darkness of revenge, Madara shows delight, the most prominent being when Sasuke's hatred fully develops Susanoo, and when he sacrificed Karin to pierce Danzō's heart. Despite this, Madara claims to A and Kabuto Yakushi that he is willing to hand Sasuke over to them, should the situation be right.

Madara possesses an extreme hatred towards the Senju clan and the Senju-led Konohagakure, as he is a descendant of the elder brother who was passed over being the successor of the Sage of the Six Paths. This hatred was compounded when the village chose Hashirama Senju to be Hokage over him. Madara admired Hashirama the most for his power, but still hated him. This hatred led Madara to a life dedicated to revenge. Madara believes that all Uchiha are destined to walk the same path of revenge against the Senju and Konohagakure, and that Naruto, who has inherited the Senju's Will of Fire, is fated to battle Sasuke, who has inherited the Uchiha's hatred, even if Madara himself must force them to do so. Madara also seems to admire the Sage of the Six Paths, or at least just his power as he has gone to extreme lengths to obtain the Rinnegan, the Ten-Tailed Beast, and the powers of the Senju clan producing Izanagi, and has been planning decades in advance to achieve these goals.

Madara seems to enjoy sitting down and taking his time with things, especially when telling stories, just like he told Itachi's story to Sasuke and his Eye of the Moon Plan to the Kage and the samurai.

Abilities
Madara is considered to be one of the most gifted ninja in history. He has been noted to have been born with particularly powerful chakra which the Nine-Tails claimed to be even more sinister than its own. Said to be the most powerful shinobi ever produced by the Uchiha clan, Madara possesses both formidable battle prowess and vast experience due to his advanced age. However, Madara has admitted that he is not as powerful as he was before his defeat by Hashirama Senju. The Nine-Tails' sealing into various jinchūriki also deprives him of a powerful weapon.

Madara has proven skilled in a variety of areas. As Tobi, his only apparent claim to fame was his speed. He is physically strong enough to stop a slash from Suigetsu's giant sword with a single arm. His intimate knowledge of the ninja world allows him to recognize a jutsu and effectively counter it. Madara also has knowledge of fūinjutsu used to create jinchūriki, including when they're most vulnerable and how to extract a tailed beast. He has excellent tracking abilities, being able to find others with ease. He also seems to be able to restore lost limbs, although how he is able to do this is unknown.

Madara has displayed knowledge and ability in the surgical field. In particular, Madara was able to remove and preserve Itachi's eyes after his death and later successfully transplant them to Sasuke.

Space Time Ninjutsu
Madara is almost completely impervious to damage. When struck, attacks pass right through him, though he sometimes pretends to be hurt or cry out in pain. It was speculated by Kakashi that he uses a space-time ninjutsu to instantly send himself or even parts of his body to different locations or some sort of void and then instantly bring them back. The only time Madara's solidity can be confirmed is when he interacts with others, leaving him susceptible to counterattack when he does so. According to Konan he can only make himself intangible for about five minutes.

Madara also shows the ability to travel long distances within relatively short timespans. 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 apparently 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 vanishes. His right eye appears to be the basis for this transportation. It was shown that his body is tangible when he absorbs people, making it possible to attack him, as seen when Konan and Torune managed to injure him when he tried to absorb them.

Sharingan
Madara had mastered his Sharingan at a young age, and received praise for this. With his Sharingan, Madara was able to apply a powerful genjutsu that allowed him to completely control the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. Being of the Uchiha clan and possessing Hashirama Senju's DNA, Madara is able to use Izanagi: a technique his clan deemed a kinjutsu since the user's Sharingan is stricken with blindness and sealed away forever. His usage of the technique during his battle against Konan led to the sealing of his left eye.

Mangekyō Sharingan
Madara was the first of the Uchiha to activate the Mangekyō Sharingan. He and his brother Izuna, who awoke his own soon after Madara did, used this new profound power to take over the Uchiha clan. After going blind because of the use of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Madara implanted Izuna's eyes into his own body, which then awakened a new "Eternal" Mangekyō Sharingan, a combination of his own and Izuna's Mangekyō Sharingan. With it, Madara never had to fear the risk of losing his eyesight again. Madara also possesses high knowledge about the Mangekyō Sharingan and its various techniques. While he has not been seen using any of these techniques, his understanding gives him a great advantage against other users, such as Kakashi whose Kamui had no effect on him and Itachi's Amaterasu that he was somehow able to extinguish.

Madara had used his Mangekyō Sharingan to fully control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox at least twice. When he has to, Madara focuses on the Nine-Tails' eyes, and the Sharingan will appear over them, and then the Sharingan's tomoe disappears as the pupil enlarges. After that, he can then use the Summoning Technique to transport the Nine-Tails to anywhere he wants it. Minato Namikaze used a Contract Seal to remove Madara's control over the fox.

Rinnegan
After he stole Nagato's body, Madara removed his Rinnegan and implanted it into his left eye, replacing the Sharingan lost due to the usage of Izanagi. The Rinnegan allows the user to use all six elemental natures as well as all the abilities of the Six Paths of Pain, since they are all Rinnegan abilities.

Equipment
Madara has been shown with a diverse amount of weapons over the years. He carried a war fan with him for most of his life up until his battle with Hashirama and had only recently begun to use it again, after deciding to hunt for Naruto himself. In addition to the war fan, he had a kama with him when fighting Hashirama.

He is also seen wielding various numbers of swords at a time throughout his life since his days on the battlefield and at least up to when he made contact with Itachi. During his fight with Minato, he used a long chain attached to bracers on his wrist to subdue his opponent since they will go right through him and then be entangled by the chain dangling behind him.

Kazekage Rescue Arc
After the death of Sasori, Madara, as Tobi, appeared with Zetsu collecting Sasori's ring. He expressed interest in joining Akatsuki, believing that finding the ring would grant him membership. They then found Deidara's arm and the ring it wore, believing Deidara to be dead too. When Deidara appeared and demanded that Tobi give him his arm back, Tobi refused, prompting Deidara to comically try and choke him to death with his legs.

Three-Tails Arc
Tobi was accepted into Akatsuki as Sasori's replacement and Deidara's new partner. He was assigned to capture the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle, and Deidara accompanied him. In the anime, during their search, they stopped to get a bite to eat at a dango shop, and Deidara waited anxiously for Tobi to remove his mask so that he could see what he looked like underneath, but he turned away, hiding his face. When he finished his dango, they split up and went in different directions. Tobi eventually found the lake and saw Sakura, Shizune, Hinata, and Ino on the lake using the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier. He then figured out that the technique was to seal the Three-Tails, and went after Deidara to inform him of his discovery. After Tobi watched Deidara kill two ANBU, he congratulated him. They both discovered the Three-Tails inside the lake. Deidara used his clay to make it appear outside, after which Tobi tried to convince Deidara to fight it in his place. The beast began chasing him, and Deidara used one of his bombs on it while it was distracted. The rest of the battle went unseen. Later on, Tobi started talking about how his jutsu was flawless, and now he understood why he had been assigned to the mission. Deidara retorted that he wouldn't have got far without his clay. Tobi later fell asleep on top the Three-Tails after making another cheeky comment, much to the anger of Deidara, who "woke him up" by detonating a clay bomb next to him.

Itachi Pursuit Arc
Before sealing the Four-Tailed Monkey, Akatsuki learned Sasuke Uchiha had defeated Orochimaru. Once the sealing was complete, Deidara, angry that he had not got to kill Orochimaru, brought Tobi with him to kill Sasuke instead. They found and confronted Sasuke, and Tobi was given the job of providing assistance for Deidara during the battle. After some initial taunting from the duo, Sasuke surprised them both with his extreme speed and ran his sword straight through Tobi, apparently disemboweling him. Tobi then suddenly stood up again, complaining about the speed of the attack. The battle ultimately didn't go in Deidara's favor, so he used 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.

It was soon revealed, however, that Tobi had survived, as he met with Pain and Konan in Amegakure. Tobi, revealing himself as Madara, remarks that Sasuke is developing nicely. Noting that Itachi will die soon, Madara instructed Pain to capture Naruto Uzumaki, the host of the Nine-Tails. He later appeared to distract the 8-Man Squad as Tobi while Sasuke fought with Itachi. The Konoha ninja had no success in striking him with their attacks, so Shino Aburame volunteered to fight Madara one-on-one. With his bugs, Shino was able to box-in and catch Madara, but Madara was able to escape from this as well. Zetsu then arrived to inform him that Sasuke had killed Itachi. Madara pointed out that he had known that this would be the outcome, and went to see Sasuke. Before leaving, his Sharingan was spotted by Kakashi.

Madara tended to Sasuke's wounds and, when he woke up, offered to tell him about Itachi. Madara tried to befriend Sasuke by removing his mask and revealing his Sharingan, something that caused Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan to form in Sasuke's left eye and which made him use Amaterasu on Madara, who quickly retreated into the darkness of the cave. After stopping the black flames, Madara then appeared again with his mask back on, and began to muse about how Itachi never ceased to amaze him. After Sasuke asked what he was talking about, Madara 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, Madara revealed that it was to protect him, and, when Sasuke still didn't believe him, Madara said how it all must sound crazy but assured him that he was telling the truth, and introduced himself as the man who had helped Itachi on that fateful night. He told Sasuke about the Uchiha clan's history, Itachi's secret life, and the lengths he had gone to keep Sasuke and Konoha out of harm's way. He also however lied about his involvement with the Nine-Tails attack 16 years ago, saying instead that it was just a coincidental act of nature. 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.

Invasion of Pain Arc
Madara 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, Madara sent Taka to capture the Eight-Tailed Giant Ox. After Taka left, Madara 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 Bee, Sasuke gave it to Madara for Akatsuki to seal. During the extraction process, it was revealed to be a fake. Madara was shown to remain silent, as Kisame commented that Sasuke had been fooled in his attempt to capture the jinchūriki.

Five Kage Summit Arc
Zetsu informed Madara of Nagato's failure to capture Naruto, his betrayal of Akatsuki, and his sacrificing himself to revive the Konoha villagers he killed. Irritated by the constant setbacks as well as Nagato's wasting the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, Madara sent Kisame to capture Killer Bee. Then went to confront Sasuke, who was taking Taka to Konoha. Madara 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 candidate Hokage and a conspirator in the Uchiha's assassination. Madara 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, Madara 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, Madara told them about the Sage of the Six Paths, the truth of the Uchiha clan, and Sasuke's descent into darkness. They doubt the validity of what he told them, but he persevered, saying that Naruto and Sasuke are destined to fight some day before disappearing.

As Sasuke was about to be killed by the Kage, Madara rescued him. He sends Sasuke away while having Karin go with him to heal his injuries. Madara voiced his disappointment that Sasuke was not more of a match for the Kage, having hoped to take them hostage to facilitate with 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 four of the five Kage at the Land of Iron: his intention to reform the tailed beasts back into the Ten-Tailed Beast. He would then become its jinchūriki and use its power to place the world under his control with an. To that end, he asked the four Kage to give him Killer Bee and Naruto. They refused, so he declared the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi World War before disappearing.

Madara intercepted Danzō while he was fleeing the Summit. Danzō has his bodyguards, Fū and Torune, fight Madara while he prepared himself. Although forced to remove his arm during the battle because of Torune's nano-sized, venomous insects, Madara was easily able to dispose of the two. Madara then teleported Sasuke and Karin to their location, showing Sasuke that he keeps his word by giving him Danzō. Madara observed the battle and was glad when Sasuke is finally able to fully develop Susanoo. When Danzō displayed his numerous Sharingan eyes and his Wood Release abilities, Madara surmised that this meant he wanted to be able to control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Madara also identified how Danzō is able to survive a battle with Sasuke: Izanagi. Sasuke and Danzō eventually clash, but Sasuke overcame Izanagi and mortally wounded Danzō.

Pleased with the outcome, Madara indicated that he wanted to take Shisui's eye, which was implanted in Danzō's right eye-socket. Before he can take it, Danzō took Karin hostage, and Sasuke has no hesitation in cutting through her to finally kill him. As he died, Danzō activated the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique in an attempt to take Madara and Sasuke with him, but Madara recognized it in time to escape while also warning Sasuke. Sasuke then stated they would head to Konoha. Madara however, advised Sasuke not to be reckless, and that despite Karin healing his more serious wounds, he was still very battered and needed time to recover. He then grabbed Danzō's corpse and also advised Sasuke to kill Karin if he truly has no need of her anymore since she knew too much about them. Sasuke merely stated he has never considered himself an ally of Madara. Madara brushed off the comment and teleported away with Danzō. At his lab, where a giant wall with many glass containers, each holding a Sharingan eye in a fluid, Madara cursed Danzō for destroying Shisui's Sharingan before dying as a final act of both duty and to spite Madara.

Later on, after Madara gained a new arm and noted that he must collect the Rinnegan to prepare for war, Zetsu's white half appeared, stating that Sasuke was in trouble. Madara then teleported in front of Team 7 and told Sasuke to come with him and for Zetsu to check on Kisame and reunite with his other half and decides to leave Naruto's capturing to Sasuke. Kakashi Hatake then attempts to eliminate Madara with Kamui, but Madara told Kakashi not to try because it had no effect on him. He then leaves with Sasuke, who says that he needs to talk with him. When they return to the Akatsuki base, Sasuke declares that he wants Itachi's eyes. Madara says that's to be expected with Sasuke's extensive Susanoo usage. He then asks what changed Sasuke's mind, and Sasuke affirms that he wants to destroy Naruto at full power, as it’s the only way to reject everything Naruto stands for.

After transplating Itachi's eyes into Sasuke, he told him he'll need time to recuperate and asked him if he was in any pain. Sasuke told him he wasn't and stated that he felt Itachi's power flowing into him and that he was getting stronger.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
Sometime after the transplant, Madara encountered Kabuto in his new form, and remembered how Kabuto was a traitor to Akatsuki, Madara then lunged for a kill. However, he was stopped and shocked when Kabuto revived Nagato, Kakuzu, Itachi, Sasori, and Deidara with the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection technique. He then asked Kabuto his reasons for coming to find him, who replied that he came to join forces with Madara. Madara asked what he has to profit from the alliance, and Kabuto told him that he could increase Madara's fighting potential with the resurrected Akatsuki members. Madara asked what Kabuto wanted in return, the answer being Sasuke, so Kabuto could keep researching ninjutsu. He then questioned what would happen if he were to refuse, and Kabuto summoned yet one more casket with an unidentified person. Madara was visibly disturbed. Kabuto reassured him that no one knew about it. Madara commended Kabuto for orchestrating such a situation. He agreed to join forces with Kabuto, on the condition that Sasuke wouldn't be handed to him until the end of the war. They both left to formulate battle plans.

He was later seen confronting and questioning Konan in Amegakure about the whereabouts of Nagato's corpse, for he desired his Rinnegan. After she refused to comply, Madara claimed that he was the one, not Yahiko as according to Konan, who created Akatsuki and also, gave Nagato the Rinnegan. In the ensuing battle, Konan attempted to kill them both by placing explosive tags amongst her paper form, with which she engulfed him. However, Madara saved himself (along with Konan) by teleporting most of the explosion away, though at the cost of part of his mask and right arm being blown off. Upon being questioned as to why she and Nagato betrayed Akatsuki after encountering Naruto, Konan told Madara that he represented the darkness, and she would instead become a "pillar to the bridge of peace" that Naruto would build. She then activated her secret technique, which split the lake they were battling on apart, surprising Madara.

As he fell into the abyss, he attempted to start teleporting. Konan retaliated by sticking multiple explosive tags onto his body and detonating them, which kept him from teleporting. He then realized that Konan had filled her technique with six hundred billion explosive tags, and they would detonate for a full ten minutes. Realizing the situation he was in, he was forced to use Izanagi to survive after taking more damage, costing him the use of his left eye.

He appeared behind Konan after her Paper Person of God Technique had worn off, and impaled her through the chest with a pipe. He explained that Izanagi is a technique that the Sage of the Six Paths created by manipulating Yin-Yang chakra, and can only be used by combining both Uchiha and Senju blood. She pulled herself free, proclaiming that Naruto was light and she was going to be the pillar that supported him, attempting to attack Madara again. He grabbed her neck and placed her under a genjutsu to find out where Nagato was being kept. After he found the bodies of Nagato and Yahiko within a shrine, Madara called Nagato the "Third of the Six Paths" and noted that his Uzumaki clan's trademark red hair had turned white from overexertion.

When he saw that Nagato was smiling even in death, Madara interpreted this as his continued betrayal. Madara then teleported Nagato's body to his separate dimension. Later, after restoring his right arm, his broken mask with a different design and changing his clothes to his old robes and armed with his old war-fan, Madara had a short meeting with Kabuto. When he received Kisame's information from Zetsu, Madara declared that it is time to capture the Nine-Tails. Kabuto then said that he would capture the Nine-Tails for them instead.

Shinobi World War Arc
After some talking, Madara leads Kabuto to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, where down under it there is the corpse of Hashirama Senju. However, this corpse is mindless, because it was created from a sample of flesh taken from him by Madara, during their final battle. Following, he revealed to Kabuto one hundred thousand clones of Zetsu, which are most likely to counter the Allied Shinobi Forces. Soon after, Kabuto along with a reanimated Deidara departed to capture Killer Bee and Naruto. He is later seen asking Kabuto why he brought him Yamato instead of Naruto and/or Killer Bee, but Kabuto explained that bringing Yamato would help him create more Zetsus, and adds that it was better than losing an impossible battle. Madara is then seen with his lost left eye replaced by a Rinnegan. He tells Kabuto to hurry and get to work, stating that his left eye was hungry for battle.

Later, he is seen with Kabuto discussing the best methods to use Yamato to their full advantage. Madara suggests using the Rinnegan's Human Path ability to extract information, but cites it will kill Yamato. Kabuto suggests using him to strengthen the Zetsu clones, and that with the use of drugs and Madara's Sharingan, they can extract information from him. After these events occur, Madara and Kabuto march off to war. When forming the Surprise Attack and Diversion Platoon, Madara expresses his doubts with Kabuto using the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection on so many revived bodies, though Kabuto reassures that he was just focused on controlling their movements for now.

Before leaving the hideout, Kabuto went out to deal with Anko Mitarashi, who hiding just outside his base. When Kabuto meets back up with Madara, he suggests him to go to the front line of the war, while he focuses on his technique. Staring at Anko's unconscious body, Madara suspects that Kabuto led Anko to them, since she was able to get so close to his hideout. He also suspects that Kabuto's plan may be to have him and the Allied Shinobi Forces destroy each other, but secretly states that would not happen and that he is using him.

Madara commands Kabuto to kill Anko, because she has seen their hideout and its entrance. Kabuto refuses, saying he can get stronger by absorbing Orochimaru's chakra from her, since Anko is compatible with Orochimaru's cursed seals. Kabuto points out that it is in Madara's best interest to increase the binding power of Impure World Resurrection. Madara questions him about the technique requiring a living sacrifice, and demands to be shown how it works, threatening Kabuto. Kabuto agrees, but won't use Anko. Madara them brings out Fū and Torune, who have been kept under genjutsu since they were captured. Madara breaks Torune's neck and tells Kabuto to use Fū as a sacrifice. As Kabuto demonstrates the technique, Madara suspects the technique is too convenient, believing it to have some risk.

Trivia

 * can be translated as "spots". 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.
 * The phrase "Tobi is a good boy" has proven to be very popular among the Naruto community. Although not said by Tobi himself (Zetsu's white half actually uttered the phrase to his black half after stating Tobi's intentions of joining Akatsuki wasn't so simple to accomplish), many have found the comment to be rather hilarious and, as such, Tobi is depicted as a carefree child or a good-natured character in many fanmade art and videos on YouTube while incorporating the phrase or a parody of it.
 * Tobi's mask made a cameo appearance 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 as seen in Naruto: Shippūden episode 99.
 * According to the third databook (despite Tobi and Madara being the same person, the databook gives them separate entries):
 * Madara's hobby is falconry. As Tobi, his hobby is accompanying "Deidara-senpai".
 * Madara's favorite food is inarizushi, while his least favorite is roe.
 * Madara's wishes to fight the upper class Konoha ninja.
 * Madara's favorite phrase is . As Tobi, his favorite phrase is given as.

Quotes

 * (To Kisame, about his Eye of the Moon Plan) "It will be a new world... A world of truth, not lies."
 * (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 Pain and Konan)
 * (To Pain and Konan) "Soon... all our goals will be achieved... and when they are, everything will be as it should."
 * (To Naruto while talking about Sasuke) "The Uchiha is a clan destined for revenge..."
 * (To the Five Kage) "The concept of hope is nothing more than giving up. A word that holds no true meaning."
 * (Thinking to himself) "When a man learns to love, he must bear the risk of hatred."
 * (While addressing four of the five Kages) "In that case, I hereby declare... the Fourth Ninja World War."