Obito Uchiha

is a major antagonist of the series. He is a former chūnin-level shinobi from Konohagakure and a former member of Team Minato. Following a tragic loss, after his apparent death during the Third Shinobi World War, Obito took up the aliases, and later and became an international criminal responsible for various felonies, including the Nine-Tails' Attack on Konoha. He is the current leader of Akatsuki, and one of the two remaining living Uchiha.

Life as Obito
On the day that he was to become a student at the Academy, Obito arrived late to the opening ceremony. Believing that he arrived too late he was relieved when Rin Nohara handed him his orientation-documents. He would eventually graduate at the age of 9 was was placed in Team Minato with Rin and Kakashi Hatake under the leadership of Minato Namikaze. The team took part in the Chūnin Exams, where Obito arrived late for a second round in the Forest of Death having stopped to help an elderly woman. When Team Minato ran across an enemy team, Obito attempted to impress Rin with the Uchiha clan's fire technique, but ended up chocking on the candy the elderly woman gave him and was promptly defeated by Might Guy. Training extensively between the second and third round and told Rin his dream of becoming Hokage. He was however eliminated from the exams in another bout with Guy, who was then beaten by Kakashi allowing him to rise to the rank of chūnin. Obito did attain the rank some years later but 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 hinder Iwagakure from using Kusagakure as a relief point. Before beginning the mission, Minato and Rin gave gifts to Kakashi to celebrate his promotion to jōnin, though Obito had forgotten thus straining an already poor relationship. Minato would soon be called to the front lines, leaving the team to carry on the mission alone. The three were then discovered by Iwa-nin and Rin was captured. Kakashi elected to abandon Rin, believing it was more important to finish the mission before concerning themselves with her safety. Obito became enraged at the idea and insisted that they focus on her rescue. When Kakashi refused, Obito left on his own, remarking that Kakashi was worse than scum for abandoning his friends.

Obito found the cave the Iwa-nin were using as a hideout, but before he could make much progress, was found and attacked by a camouflaged Taiseki. Kakashi having a change of heart because of Obito's parting words, arrived and saved Obito, shielding him from Taiseki's attack, but damaging his left eye in the process. To save his team-mate, Obito awakened his Sharingan for the first time, allowing him to see through Taiseki's camouflage and kill him. The two found and released Rin from her restraints, prompting Kakkō to bring the cave down around them. As they made their escape, Kakashi's limited vision greatly hindered him, and when Obito noticed he was about to be crushed by a falling boulder in his blind spot, he pushed him out of the way and became trapped under the rubble in his place, crushing the right half of his body. With no way to 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. The Iwa reinforcements quickly began to further constrict the rubble forcing Kakashi and Rin to leave Obito behind. As the rocks tightened around him, Obito lamented that he had finally became friends with Kakashi and failed he couldn't confess his feelings for Rin. Afterwards, Minato rescued Kakashi and Rin and Obito was believed dead, his name marked in Konoha's memorial.

Obito was somehow rescued by an elderly Madara Uchiha who took the Uchiha to the Mountains' Graveyard. Though his Sharingan was miraculously unharmed, the entire side of his body from the neck down was completely destroyed, prompting Madara to reconstruct half of his body using parts of Hashirama's living clone. Telling Obito that he now owes him his life, Obito instead declared he wanted to return to Konoha and be with his friends. Madara informed him that his new body would prevent him from becoming a shinobi again, and that in the end it wouldn't matter. Madara preached about the harsh nature of reality and how he has a plan to change the world. Still unconvinced, but otherwise unable to leave, Obito remained in the Mountain Graveyard to recuperate. During his recuperation, he met and became friends with White Zetsu and one of his many clones while undergoing rehabilitation in order to use his new limbs.

As Obito was finally getting used to his new limbs, White Zetsu alerted him to the fact that Kakashi and Rin were surrounded by Kirigakure-nin and in danger. Obito tried to punch through the wall blocking the Mountain Graveyard, but ended up destroying his right arm and barely breaking the wall. Spiral Zetsu, wanting to help and sure Madara would allow it, encased Obito with his body which gave him the strength to break the wall. As Obito prepared to leave, he told Madara he had no intention of returning, but thanked him for saving his life. Madara in turn told him that he will return willingly and thank him truthfully. Using Spiral Zetsu to locate his friends, he learned that Minato was once again absent. On his way, Obito's left eye socket caught a glimps of what his left eye was actually seeing, but dismissed it as a panic thought. Upon reaching the battlefield, he was shocked to see Kakashi had run Rin through with his Chidori.

As Rin died before both of them, their Sharingan matured into the Mangekyō Sharingan and Kakashi passed out quickly afterwards. The Kiri-nin attempted to claim Rin's body for intel, prompting an enraged Obito to slaughter them with a combination of his Kamui ability and Wood Release sprouting from his body. After killing all the Kiri-nin and ignoring Kakashi completely, Obito cradled Rin's body and vowed he would create a world where she was alive again.

Moving the Plan Forward
With new conviction, he returned to Mountains' Graveyard and agreed with Madara's conclusion that the reality they lived in was worthless and should be destroyed. He vowed he would create a new reality where he, Rin, and Kakashi would be together again. Pleased, Madara told Obito the details of the Eye of the Moon Plan, the secrets of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and the role Nagato would play with his Rinnegan. Disconnecting himself from the Demonic Statue, Madara told Obito that until the day he was revived, he would be Madara Uchiha and must work to bring the Eye of the Moon Plan to completion.

Obito and Zetsu travelled to Amegakure to meet the Ame Orphans, who were sceptical at Obito's claim that he was Madara and his plan to make a world where everyone win despite Nagato wanting to know about his powers. Yahiko brushed Obito off and told him to stay away from them. Obito, however, stated that he would return to that spot everyday until they understood and came to him willingly. Eventually, after the death of Yahiko, Nagato would become Pain and join Obito, this beginning the current incarnation of Akatsuki.

From this point, Obito's actions are largely unknown. As Tsunade speculated years later, the reason Obito adopted his name was to take advantage of the power it invoke in peoples' fears of the legend himself. 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 confirmation that he is really Madara, as only Madara would be capable of such deeds. Obito also possesses knowledge of things that only the real Madara would know, further giving him credence.

Twelve years before the start of the series, having infiltrated Konoha, Obito learned that Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki and Minato's wife, would be giving birth. Obito knew that this would cause the seal keeping Nine-Tails contained within her to weaken. Intending to use the Nine-Tails, Obito tracked her down and took the newborn Naruto Uzumaki hostage to keep Minato from interfering. Once he extracted the beast, Obito placed the tailed beast under his control and ordered it to destroy Konoha. Using Kamui to keep Minato from going to the village's defence, Obito engaged his former mentor before being hit by a Rasengan and branded with Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique. Wounded with Minato's Contract Seal removing the Nine-Tails from his control, Obito fled while vowing to regain the Nine-Tails and that he still had other plans.

Eight years after the Nine-Tails' attack, the Uchiha clan who had been ostracised and placed under heavy suspicion for the attack as the full story of the event died with Minato and his wife, Obito infiltrated Konoha to rekindle the flames of war. He was found by Itachi Uchiha first, who thought he was Madara and convinced Obito to spare the village in exchange for helping to wipe out the Uchiha clan. Obito complied, training Itachi and providing assistance. Around that time, Obito also met with Danzō Shimura. At some point in time, Obito also took 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 and helped Obito in his quest to bring about an end to the "world of lies". Later on, Obito adopted the alias Tobi in order to join the organisation he helped establish and hide itself among its ranks, finally putting Madara's agenda into motion.

Personality
In his youth, Obito was constantly late, which more often than not, was due to the good deeds he had stopped to do, which usually had to do with aiding the elderly. Having made it a point in his life to do so, he noted that he knew all the elderly persons in Konoha, stopped once on his way to the Chūnin Exams to help an elderly woman carry her luggage, and even comically offered to clean Madara's nether regions when he met him. Obito was also easily moved to tears, which he always insisted was because he had gotten something in his eyes despite wearing goggles. Obito was in love with Rin; but his feelings were not mutual as Rin was attracted to Kakashi instead. Obito was frustrated by this, and envied Kakashi's prodigious skills, and so constantly sought to surpass him. Although these efforts usually ended in failure, he was able to spend time with Rin while she treated his injuries. Ultimately, Obito would never get the chance to reveal his feelings to Rin 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 beliefs Obito had, such as his desire to become Hokage and never abandoning comrades on the battlefield. Even after "dying", Obito still cared deeply for his friends and village, and immediately wanted to return, though upon witnessing Kakashi taking Rin's life, his determination shattered, and his personality forever changed.

By the time he became an adult, conditioned by Madara to continue his world, Obito's personality changed drastically as he became extremely focused, calm and serious. From his former loyalty and care that seems to be derived from the Will of Fire, he now claims to have inherited the Uchiha clan's Curse of Hatred. While frequently arrogant about his own abilities and disrespectful of those he considers as weak, he is not above giving praise to his enemies, such as his former teacher Minato for being able to wound him. He has also forsaken his dream of being Hokage and ideals of camaraderie, and ridiculed Naruto for having both qualities. This arrogance was extended 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. Although he expressed his reasons for not revealing his identity was due to Kakashi letting Rin die, Obito does not seem to blame Kakashi, instead blaming the "worthless reality" they both live in. Nonetheless, his love for Rin appears to be one of his defining features carried into adulthood and her death had a role in creating his current personality; he came to believe that reality is hell solely based on her death. Although Obito was annoyed at first with White Zetsu, who was assigned by Madara to take care of the young Uchiha, when they first met, they eventually got along well as Zetsu would often take care of Obito during the latter's rehabilitation; this friendship would go on to Obito's adulthood, and would become one of his few (if not only) genuinely positive relationships.

Obito has also shown an aggressive and sadistic side, a direct contrast to his youth. This was first shown when he attacked his village and held his former teacher's infant son hostage before extracting the Nine-Tails from its jinchūriki, an action that led to the deaths of Minato and Kushina. He mercilessly killed Torune in order to be reincarnated moments later by using Fū as a sacrifice, all for the purpose of testing Kabuto's abilities.

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 Obito in a comedic fashion. Kisame, on the other hand, appreciated Obito'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 a fool after Deidara's death and used it one final time to distract the Eight Man Squad during Sasuke's battle with Itachi.

Obito is a master of manipulation, either by subtly corrupting his target's own goals, omitting parts of stories or events to his own benefit as he did with Sasuke, 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 organisation furthers their own ends; in actuality they are mere tools that further Obito's agenda as noted 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. He is also capable of great patience in attaining his goals, even lecturing Sasuke on it at one time. However, his patience isn't unlimited — at one point he chooses to discard caution and proceed with his plan in a more aggressive and decisive manner, and when the Ten-Tails is revived, he insists that the Eye of the Moon Ritual be commenced immediately. He is also prone to taking risks — revealing 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, Obito is nevertheless happy with his "development": his developing 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.

Obito's most prominent personality trait continues to be his loathing of the reality he lives in. After Rin died, he was unable to accept the way things turned out, and vowed to make a new reality where Rin was still alive. This delusion became increasingly more strong as Obito aged, eventually causing him to lose all sense of care for both his own self and the reality that Rin wasn't in. Because the reality he sought to make would be just as he wants it, Obito has no care about whether or not those close to him die, including Kakashi as he believe once the Eye of the Moon Plan is completed he can just revive Kakashi along with Rin. This continued when he fought Minato, declaring to himself that he no longer cared about the world, and felt no guilt whatsoever for his role in Minato's death. Indeed, even after being outed as a fake "Madara" by Naruto, Obito's nihilistic outlook begins to show as he states himself as a nobody and that anything besides the Eye of the Moon Plan, including his real name, is of no concern to him. Another reason he hates this reality is because — as he cited — it turns the people that survive it into trash, a twist to his former believe that anyone who abandons their comrades are worse than trash.

Appearance
As a child, Obito had short, spiky, black hair and black 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 an orange collar and trimmings. The jacket was fastened to the rest of the outfit by two buttons on the collar, and has the Uchiha clan crest at the back. 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. After he was retrieved from Kusagakure, Madara replaced his destroyed right side with artificial substance from Hashirama's living clone. The right side of his face still remains heavily scarred. During his rehabilitation, Obito grew his hair out. He eventually cut it back down to the short length as in his childhood some time before the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha. During his meetings with Itachi and Kisame respectively, Obito was seen with long hair yet again, but he later cut it back to its usual style permanently.

As Tobi, Obito created an orange mask with spiral-pattern that only shows his right eye, a reminiscence of when Swirl Zetsu encased him. 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 he acquired the Rinnegan, Obito started wearing a new mask made of strong materials suited for the looming Fourth Shinobi World War. The mask was white with a purple tint that covers the entire upper-half of Obito'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. 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, connected to a black chain that runs up his right sleeve.

Abilities
Obito was fairly skilled as a child and was able to become a chūnin at the age of 11. He was able to be recognised as an adult in his clan, having mastered the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, though he had yet to awaken his Sharingan. He was a fast learner and also had very fast reaction time and reflexes, as he was able to incinerate a trap that was sprung on his team, though this was not always a good thing as seen when he pre-empted Might Guy's attack as a child but got knocked out instead. As an adult, having been trained personally by Madara Uchiha, who passed on most of his skills and knowledge to the young Uchiha, Obito's abilities have developed immensely easily allowing him to hold his own against both Kage-level and S-ranked shinobi, as well as perfect jinchūriki and other highly reputed shinobi.

After his right half was reconstructed from the DNA material of Hashirama Senju, Obito was granted an immense increase in vitality and chakra reserves, allowing him to achieve such feats like summoning large creatures such as the Nine-Tails, items such as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as well as provide him with the basis required to control six jinchūriki at once.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he noted that his new mask had been specifically designed for combat, making it also very durable.

Taijutsu
As a child, Obito was fairly skilled with taijutsu. After awakening his Sharingan, his hand-to-hand abilities improved as he was better able to read and now even predict his opponents movements to the point that he was able to effectively counter Kakkō — an experienced Iwa-nin's attacks. He also displayed skill in coordinated attacks alongside Kakashi using his Sharingan. As an adult, Obito's skills grew tremendously. Due to his artificial body, his physical strength increased significantly, enough to crack a massive boulder shortly after his rehabilitation, and in later years easily stop a slash from Suigetsu's Kubikiribōchō with his artificial right arm in the manga, and his real left arm in the anime without injuring himself, hold Konan off the ground by her throat, and strangle a Konoha ANBU to death, each time using only one hand.

Aside from his physical strength, Obito also developed massive endurance, enough to withstand the damage caused by a direct Rasengan strike without having his movements impaired. Obito has also displayed a great level of speed, predominantly used via Kamui to teleport himself near-instantaneously to any location. During his encounter with Kakkō he displayed enough speed to intercept the Iwa-nin's attacks, creating an opening for Kakashi to attack.

Nature Transformation
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Obito is well-versed in Fire Release techniques, which he was able to use quickly, as seen during a mission where he demonstrated quick usage of the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. In the anime, Obito displayed the ability to conceal shurikens in multiple small fireballs. He is also capable of combining his fire techniques with his space-time technique to produce a powerful vortex of fire.

Obito gained the ability to use Wood Release after acquiring artificial limbs made from Hashirama Senju's DNA and the ability to presumably use its two component elements: earth and water. He has shown an aptitude with the former element as seen when he burrowed and moved underground to spread Deidara's bombs across a battlefield to create a literal minefield.

His skill with Wood Release was shown during his assault on several Kirigakure-nin after Rin had died. With it, he could produce branches and spikes from his body, which he could then use to drive into opponents, literally skewering them on branches when merged with Spiral Zetsu. They could also be used as projectiles as well on a larger scale.

Throughout the series, Obito has lost his right arm two times and his left hand once. These limbs are later revealed to be artificial constructs, created from Hashirama's living clone which were used by Madara to replace Obito's destroyed right side. These constructs are expendable and replaceable as seen when Obito had his arm replaced and are similar in nature to that of White Zetsu and its clones. When damaged the area oozes a white substance instead of blood. The artificial right side also possess a degree of regenerative capabilities, as Obito's arm and shoulder seemingly managed to repair itself from the damage caused by Naruto's Rasengan. This artificial body also enables Obito to survive without the need for food or water.

Bukijutsu
As an adult, Obito has been shown wielding various weapons throughout the series. During the Fourth Shinobi World War he began carrying the war fan that Madara Uchiha was known to use during his life. Attached to the gunbai was a chain that was connected to Obito, which allows him to use his fan in a similar manner to a flail, as an alternate means of attacking, and defending, as well as a method to get within proximity to absorb his enemies. The gunbai is also extremely durable, enough to block a Rasengan without any visible damage to it.

In his fight with Minato Namikaze, he used a long chain attached to braces on his wrist, resembling shackles.They were used 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, Obito was seen carrying a sword at his waist.

Upon first activating his Mangekyō Sharingan and using the Wood Release: Cutting Technique, there were multiple chakra receivers among the branches of the technique that extended off his right side. Though after releasing the two techniques, the receivers seemed to vanish along with them. Upon implanting Nagato's Rinnengan, Obito displayed a wider use of the chakra receivers. By implanting a single chakra receiver within the left breast of the former jinchūriki, Obito was able to control and manipulate them entirely as well as force them to adopt their jinchūriki transformations at will. He also has giant stakes, used to stab enemies and produce chakra chains that can restrain a tailed beast.

Shurikenjutsu
Obito wields a set of giant shuriken of varying sizes (from the size of handheld ones, to ones larger than a full-grown person) stored in the other dimension, which he can instantly bring out, by using his Kamui's spiraling distortion to launch them at a high rotational speed, which adds an element of surprise to the attack and gives the opponent minimal time to react accordingly. He also uses them as close-range melee weapons against Kakashi, for both stabbing and slashing.

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. His eye gained three tomoe after witnessing Rin's death, moments before his Mangekyō Sharingan awakened. After giving up his original left eye to Kakashi, Obito obtained a new left Sharingan eye and has multiple Sharingan placed in storage should he need them. As an adult, Obito 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 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.

Like Madara, Obito can use his Sharingan to place tailed beasts under his control, the control more effective on a single target with some difficulty when controlling more than one at the same time, allowing the beasts to temporarily break free in such instances. Obito 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, Obito used Hashirama's DNA to extend the length of his Izanagi, allowing him to keep it going for five minutes while only losing one of his replacement left eyes.

Mangekyō Sharingan
Obito awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan after witnessing Rin's death at the hands of 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, Kamui.

This ability grants Obito the use of two distinct, yet similar, abilities that do not appear whenever Kakashi Hatake uses the technique: teleportation, and another best described as "intangibility". The eye serves as a gateway to another dimensional space, 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. Obito 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 Kamui 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 imperiousness, he can teleport anyone by making physical contact with them. Once teleported the targets are forced to stay there until he chooses to release them. The chakra signatures of those that have been teleported completely vanish as they enter another dimension. When being transported in this way, the target appears to be sucked into his right eye. Obito 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 Obito's space-time ninjutsu, dubbing it more versatile than both his own and Tobirama Senju's.

Overall Obito favours using his intangibility for defence, letting his opponents and their techniques phase through him and absorbing them while they are off-guard. This became such a key element in Obito's fighting style that he rarely resorts to more traditional forms of ninjutsu. The only reliable counter to this technique has been Kakashi's own Kamui, ironically used by the counterpart, left eye; objects warped away by Kamui are sent to the same dimension which can then harm the part of Obito that may exist in the other dimension at that time. Because of the ability to warp himself and the fact that the eyes share the same dimensional void, Obito is "immune" in a sense, to Kakashi's use of this technique on him.

Obito has also shown the capability to combine his Kamui with his fire nature to create a vortex of flames known as Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance. He can also use his Kamui to unleash various weapons from the eye's pocket dimension at very high speeds, giving his opponents little time to react.

Obito could use the Kamui casually and extensively without fatigue due to his chakra reserves, and does not seem to show any signs of eyesight deterioration, whereas most other people using the Mangekyō Sharingan would use techniques sparingly due to the high amounts of chakra required and the continuous usage would accelerate one's blindness.

Rinnegan
Following the loss of his replacement Sharingan, Obito implanted Madara's Rinnegan, taken from Nagato's corpse, into his left eye socket in preparation for the Fourth Shinobi World War. With the Rinnegan, Obito can summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

As a wielder of the Rinnegan, Obito also has access to the Six Paths Technique. He also makes use of the Six Paths of Pain technique, with his particular Paths being chosen from the reincarnated jinchūriki, embedding chakra receivers in their bodies which allows him to manipulate them. Each one 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 was able to reseal the tailed beasts into their respective jinchūriki and use their powers freely as well as create chakra chains that he used to suppress their power. Obito is able to use the chains to drag the beasts he controls into his own body or reseal them instantly inside the Statue.

Intelligence
As an adult, Obito is an observant and sharp thinker, capable of reading through 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 Obito 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.

Due to Madara's tutelage, Obito gained 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 regard the Sage's very existence as myth.

Obito, in his adulthood, is also shown as a master manipulator, being able to exploit an individual's beliefs and convictions into serving his purposes through direct or indirect manners such as Nagato, Kisame and Sasuke. Likewise he was able to fully assume the identity of Madara Uchiha to manipulate the entire shinobi world into a war due to their fear of the elder Uchiha's abilities. When questioned about why he was going about things in such a roundabout manner by Ōnoki — someone who had witnessed his power first hand — he noted that the fight between "himself" and Hashirama, had left him a shell of his former self.

Other Skills
Aside from his proficiency on all major ninja sets, Obito is also versed in a few other unorthodox skills. He has displayed high-level surgical skills, able to remove, preserve, and transplant eyes into himself and others. Obito can also easily find others no matter where they are through unknown means. He is also capable of performing a sealing technique, which allows him to separate a tailed beast from its jinchūriki. Obito is also versed in barrier techniques, using one of his clan's barriers that can burn enemies on contact.

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 the Akatsuki. Finding Deidara after he and Zetsu find the ninja's disembodied ring arm, Tobi's refusal to return the severed limb resulted in him being strangled by Deidara's legs.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc
Tobi was seen with the other Akatsuki members to seal the Two-Tails from Yugito Nii, previously captured by Hidan and Kakuzu, to the Demonic Statue.

Three-Tails Arc
Soon after being accepted into the Akatsuki as Sasori's replacement, Tobi is made Deidara's new partner while being 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 Akatsuki members 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
When the Akatsuki later receives news that Sasuke Uchiha had defeated Orochimaru, Tobi follows a furious Deidara in his intent to kill Sasuke. 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 Tobi's demise to the other Akatsuki members, prompting Pain to remark that he was easily replaceable.

However, Tobi survived as he meets with Pain and Konan in Amegakure shortly afterwards and instructs Pain to capture Naruto, the current jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. Seeing an use in Sasuke as Itachi would die soon, Tobi uses his childish facade to hinder the the Konoha ninja sent to find either brother. When Zetsu then arrived to inform him that Sasuke had killed Itachi, having expected that outcome, Tobi 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; however, he lied about his involvement with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's attack, saying instead that it was a random natural attack. 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 while he catches up to Taka while they were half-way to Konoha. Telling them that Konoha is already in ruins, Tobi convinces Sasuke to follow Zetsu to the Kage Summit in the Land of Iron to kill Danzō, the acting Hokage and a conspirator in the Uchiha's assassination. However, intending to have Sasuke take the Kage hostage for him to facilitate his plans, Tobi instructs Zetsu to expose Taka's presence to the Kage.

Finding Naruto also in the Land of Iron, Tobi decides to personally confront the youth to figure out how he caused 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 him. They doubt the validity of what he told them, but he persevered while proclaiming 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. Though disappointed that Sasuke was not more of a match for the Kage, Tobi was nevertheless happy by the development of Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan in awakening Susanoo. He then explained his Eye of the Moon Plan to the Kage and those in attendance, concluding by asking for their support by giving him Killer B and Naruto. The Kage refused, so he declared war on them all before disappearing.

Tobi intercepted Danzō while he was fleeing the Summit, fighting his bodyguards Fū and Torune. Although forced to remove his arm because of Torune's nano-sized, venomous insects, Tobi was easily able to dispose of the two before teleporting Sasuke and Karin to their location so he can honour his promise to the former. 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. Tobi 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 informs him of Sasuke's fight with his Team 7 team-mates. Arriving after Sasuke clashed with Naruto, Tobi advises that Sasuke come with him to as they can deal with Naruto another time. Once back at the Mountains' Graveyard, at the youth'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, who arrived after mastering his new powers. Remembering that Kabuto was once an Akatsuki spy, Tobi tries to kill him for betraying the organisation. 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 to acquire Nagato's corpse before he immediately confronted by Konan. Tobi 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, hoping to use the exploding tags mingled with her paper in order to sacrifice herself to kill him. However, realising her intent, Tobi is able to warp the explosion away - saving both of their lives at the cost of his right arm with the upper part of his mask is broken. After Konan answers his question while she and Nagato placed their faith in Naruto, Tobi finds himself surrounded by six hundred billion paper explosives. Konan than detonates them all over a period of ten minutes, longer than the five-minute period that Tobi can remain intangible for.

However, to escape the death trap Konan laid out for him, Tobi sacrifices his left Sharingan to use Izanagi and survive the attack while losing the upper left side of his mask in the process. Taking advantage of Konan lowering her guard and thinking she succeeded, Tobi uses a pipe to impale her from behind. Konan attempts a final defensive strike, proclaiming that Naruto will lead them to peace, but Tobi grabs her by the neck as he retorts that he will embrace being the 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, interpreting the corpse's smile as his continued betrayal, he closes the eyes before 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. After Kabuto convinces him to use a genjutsu and the proper drug to extract intel from Yamato instead of using the Human Path ability, Tobi allows Kabuto to use their captive to strengthen the White Zetsu army.

Shinobi World War Arc
When preparations are complete the thousands of Zetsus and many of Kabuto's reincarnated 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 Akatsuki 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 neutralise 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 Ninjutsu 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. Guy, surprised with Obito's presence, wonders how he is still alive, while Kakashi confirmed it to be his former team-mate upon seeing both his Mangekyō Sharingan and a visibly crushed right face. When asked how he survived, Obito dodged the question and instead reveals his motivation; Kakashi's inability to save Rin, leading Obito to hate the reality they live in. As Kakashi hesitated to continue, Naruto instead rallied ahead to stop Obito, who promptly attacks with a fire technique. Right after Naruto intercepts the technique with Kurama's tails, Madara Uchiha arrives to Obito's side of the battlefield.

Striking up a conversation as they casually ignore their opponents, Obito is scolded for deviating form the original plan as he gives Madara his gunbai so he deflect several of the giant chakra receivers thrown at them. Left to deal with Kakashi and Might Guy as Madara goes after Naruto and Killer B, after remembering the events that changed his outlook, Obito tells Kakashi that he has nothing left to say to him and that only thing they have left is a final battle. At first, Kakashi was more focused on getting answers that gave a vexed Obito an advantage. But once Obito's deathblow was intercepted by Naruto, Kakashi resolved to fight his former friend to protect his student.

As Obito questioned Kakashi's resolve, he also noted that Kakashi had used the Sharingan to perfect his Lightning Cutter and had even awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, but remarked that they would see whether or not Kakashi could return from the other dimension in his current condition. Creating a wooden branch from his right arm, Obito attempted to incapacitate Naruto while he warped Kakashi away. Naruto, however, headbutts Obito which sends him reeling. When Kakashi is later thrown by his opponents, Obito takes the opportunity to warp Kakashi away. Unbeknownst to him however, this was all part of Kurama's plan and his opponents' two-fold attack is launched: as Naruto attacked Obito from the real-world, Kakashi, who had been given chakra by Kurama attacked the parts of Obito's body which had been warped to the other dimension. When Kakashi returned from the other dimension, Obito watched on as the Ten-Tails is revived despite Naruto and Killer B's attempt to destroy it and heralds the end of this world.

Madara then joins Obito and the two land on top of the Ten-Tails' head where two tendrils from the demon embedded themselves to the two Uchiha respectively. Obito then got into a slight argument with Madara as he wanted to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi immediately while his partner wanted to test the beast's power. While Obito called Madara a child for wanting to deviate from the plan, Madara retorted the comment by saying that a child was someone who was impatient. Quickly, the Ten-Tails overwhelmed the Eight and Nine-Tails, and when attacked with Continuous Tailed Beast Balls, Madara noted that they did not need to dodge the attack. When the dust settled and due to having focused too much of their attention on controlling the beast, they were ambushed by the Eight-Tails with a point-blank Tailed Beast Ball overhead where Kakashi had warped the beast to.

As the Ten-Tails simply flicks the blast away, it then attacks Naruto and Kakashi. Naruto however pushes Kakashi aside. Obito notices this, remembering how he did the same thing during the last mission as a team. He admits that Naruto is similar to him when he was at that age, but is sure Naruto will eventually become like how he is now. As Kakashi, Guy, and the Eight-Tails all run out of chakra, Obito points out the hopelessness for Naruto, but the young jinchiruki refuses to give up. Suddenly, the entire Allied Shinobi Forces arrive.

Video Games
The above-listed games refer to Tobi with his true-personality. In some games, such as Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Obito's true-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.
 * As Tobi, Obito 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 favourite phrase is given as.
 * In the video games, such as Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Impact, Obito, in his Tobi disguise, 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."
 * (Before his presumed death) "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, in his own mind) "Minato-sensei, this, all of this… this entire world… I don't care about it anymore."
 * (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 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. This world is completely worthless… there is nothing left in it but misery."
 * (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."