Tobi

is a major antagonist of the series. He co-founded Konohagakure, alongside the Senju clan, as leader of the Uchiha clan and later, after his defection, Akatsuki. 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 constantly competing and training 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 DNA 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 defence. Before he could contribute much or even tell anyone what had happened, Madara located him and tried to use his space–time technique to send him away and prevent further interference. Minato was able to use his own teleportation technique to escape, but Madara pursued him. The two began fighting and Minato struggled to successfully strike Madara. After several failed attacks, Minato finally hit Madara with the Rasengan and branded 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.

Eight years later, Madara infiltrated Konoha to try to 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. However, Itachi never truly trusted Madara 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 in his quest to bring about an end to the "world of lies".
 * Claims to be the one who "gave" Nagato the Rinnegan.
 * Claims to have encouraged Yahiko to create Akatsuki.

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 organisation such as theirs. However, once his identity is revealed to everyone in Akatsuki, Madara largely abandoned his "Tobi" persona, using it only to distract the Eight Man Squad during Sasuke's battle with Itachi. By the Fourth Shinobi World War where his identity is known to the world, Zetsu still calls him Tobi.

Appearance
In his youth, Madara had 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 armour, 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 armour-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 changed his appearance once again. His mask changed to a light purple one that covers the entire upper-half of his head with a design that more resembles the Ten-Tails' single eye, consisting of a ripple-pattern with three tomoe around the centre, 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, which has switched from an orange colour to a light purple.

Personality
Madara's true personality is considerably calmer and much more serious than "Tobi", 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 showed some degree of contempt for her, until she destroyed his right arm and caused considerable injury to his face and eyes. While speaking derogatorily about Pain, he still recognised 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 is not above giving praise to his enemies, like Kakashi for his speed or Minato for being able to wound him. However, 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 has shown great ability in manipulating others to do his work for him. Minato believed that he was using Nagato'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; in this case, Madara admitted that he took a gamble, as Sasuke may have chosen to follow Itachi's wish and returned to Konoha peacefully. 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 B, 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, when the situation is right.

Madara possesses an extreme hatred towards the Senju clan, especially Hashirama Senju, 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-Tails, and the powers of the Senju clan producing Izanagi, and has been planning decades in advance to achieve these goals.

Despite his calm demeanour and intelligence, Madara has shown a habit of taking very risky gambles to advance his plans, such as revealing Itachi's wishes and his own involvement in the Uchiha clan massacre to Sasuke, sending him to fight against the five Kage, involving himself with the equally dangerous Kabuto (although in this case Kabuto blackmailed Madara into having no alternative) and even attempting to complete his Eye of the Moon Plan despite not having the full chakra of the Eight and Nine-Tails.

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.

Since the start of his battle with Konan, Madara has become noticeably more aggressive and sadistic. After retrieving the Rinnegan, he went so far as to use Fū as a sacrifice for Summoning: Impure World Resurrection to revive Torune to test out Kabuto's abilities, as well as threatening to kill Kabuto, should he betray him, despite Kabuto previously being the one with the upper hand through blackmail.

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 one of 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,, hold Konan in mid-air by the throat with one hand, , and to break Torune's neck with a single move. He also possess an immense level of endurance as he was able to quickly recover after being hit by Minato's Rasengan. His intimate knowledge of the ninja world allows him to recognise a technique 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.

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 as well as somehow implanting the Rinnegan into his own left eye after losing his Sharingan.

Throughout the series Madara has lost several limbs. The loss does not seem to cause him any pain however, and a white substance is shown flowing from the wounds instead of blood. It was later shown that he is able to recreate his limbs through an unknown method. Overall, due to being imbued with the First Hokage's cells, Madara has managed to extend his life to the point where it is believed by others that he may have become immortal.

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 counter-attack when he does so. In his battle with Konan it was revealed that he can only make himself continuously 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 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, as well as forcing Konan into revealing the whereabouts of the Rinnegan. 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, he 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 Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to fully control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. First, he 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. However, during the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze was able to use a Contract Seal to remove his control over the Nine-Tails. Itachi also seems to suggest that Madara gained a new unknown technique when he acquired the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Rinnegan
After he took 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. With the Rinnegan implanted, he can also summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. He has now created his own Six Paths of Pain, made from the revived jinchūriki, with them having both the Sharingan and the Rinnegan as he does.

Equipment
Madara has been shown with a diverse range 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 readying his army for the Fourth Shinobi World War. 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 different times throughout the majority of his life, since his days on the battlefield and at least up to the point when he made contact with Itachi. During his fight with Minato, he used a long chain attached to braces on his wrist, which together resembled shackles. He used this in conjunction with his ability to become intangible, firstly allowing the adversary to harmlessly pass through his body, before solidifying once again as they emerged from the other side, only to restrain them in the trailing chain.

Intelligence
As the leader and mastermind of the Akatsuki, Madara is a master strategist and manipulator. He has shown the ability to create complex, long-term plans centred around his goal of the Eye of the Moon Plan. He is also shown to be a flexible tactician, using secondary means to attain a goal when the original plan failed. During the Fourth Shinobi World War Madara was confident in his original strategy (which did not include Kabuto's contribution) of fighting the Allied Shinobi Forces by making use of his White Zetsu Army's unique abilities.

Due to his advanced age Madara possess an immense and close knowledge of the workings of the ninja world which allows him to almost immediately identify most forms of ninjutsu and counter them if necessary, as well as assess an opponent's strength's (Kakashi for his speed, Shikamaru for his intelligence, etc). He also has great knowledge of the history and abilities of the Sage of the Six Paths.

He is also shown as a master manipulator, being able to convince characters into working for him in direct or indirect ways such as Kisame, Nagato and Sasuke.

Kazekage Rescue Arc
After the death of Sasori, Madara (as Tobi) and Zetsu went to the ruined hideout to collect Sasori's ring. Tobi expressed interest in joining Akatsuki, believing that finding the ring would grant him membership as Sasori's death opened up a spot. He later accompanied Zetsu in finding Deidara's arm and the ring it wore. Tobi believed Deidara kiled himself by using an explosive. However, Deidara soon turned up alive, but not so well. Tobi expressed delight in Deidara's survival, but accidently insulted him yet again when doing so. Even though Deidara warned Tobi not to speak another word or he would choose how he died, Tobi ignored the warning and proceeded to tell Deidara that he would use a bomb to kill him. Tobi was then comically strangled by Deidara, using his legs, as punishment.

Three-Tails Arc
Tobi was accepted into Akatsuki as Sasori's replacement and Deidara's new partner. He was assigned to capture the Three-Tails, and Deidara accompanied him. In the anime, during their search, they stopped to get a bite to eat at a dango shop. 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 found the lake and saw Team Three using the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier. He concluded that the technique was to seal the Three-Tails, and went after Deidara to inform him of his discovery. He returns with Deidara and watches as he kills two ANBU. When they locate the Three-Tails, 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 technique 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
Akatsuki later receives news that Sasuke Uchiha had defeated Orochimaru. Deidara, angry that he had not got to kill Orochimaru, brought Tobi with him to kill Sasuke instead. When they track him down, Tobi greets Sasuke as a distraction while Deidara attacks with his bombs. Sasuke survives the blast and proceeds to run his sword straight through Tobi, apparently disemboweling him. Tobi gets up immediately after collapsing, complaining about the speed of the attack. Tobi provides support to Deidara, but Sasuke keeps the advantage for the battle's duration. Deidara ultimately resorts to using C0 in an effort to kill Sasuke at the loss of his own life. Zetsu reported to the remaining members of Akatsuki that Tobi had been killed too, prompting Pain to remark that he was easily replaceable.

Pain and Konan meet with Tobi (now Madara) in Amegakure. 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. He reaches Sasuke before the Konoha-nin can and takes him away.

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 triggered Itachi's Amaterasu in Sasuke's left eye against Madara. Madara 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, 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 introduced himself as the man who had helped Itachi assassinate the Uchiha clan. 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, as well as denying any involvement in the Nine-Tails' Attack on Konoha. 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-Tails. 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 B, Sasuke gave it to Madara for Akatsuki to seal. During the extraction process, it was revealed to be a fake. Madara 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.

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 B. Then he 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 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 because of it. 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, sending Karin 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 those in attendance, concluding by asking for their support by giving him Killer B and Naruto. They refused, so he declared the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War before disappearing.

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 Sasuke emerges victorious, Madara 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 Madara and Sasuke with him, but they are able to get out of range in time. He collects Danzō's body and suggests that Sasuke take some time to rest.

At his lab, Madara discovers that Danzō destroyed Shisui's Sharingan. Cursing him, Madara gets a new arm and makes plans to retrieve Nagato's Rinnegan to prepare for war. Before he can leave, Zetsu meets with him and tells him that Sasuke is in trouble. He returns to Sasuke and, finding him with Naruto and the rest of Team 7, again advises that Sasuke come with him to rest, noting that they can capture some other time. Before they leave Kakashi tries to attack Madara with Kamui, but Madara informs him it won't work. They return to the Mountains' Graveyard where Sasuke declares that he wants Itachi's eyes, his own eyes succumbing to blindness after his repeated battles. Once completing the procedure he tells Sasuke to rest.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
Madara is soon afterwards confronted by Kabuto. Remembering that Kabuto was once Akatsuki's spy, Madara tries to kill him for his traitorous actions. Kabuto responds by using the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection to revive five deceased members of Akatsuki, an incentive for Madara to accept his help in the approaching Fourth Shinobi World War. In return, Kabuto asks that he be given Sasuke to learn the truth about ninjutsu. Madara asks what would happen if he doesn't accept, to which Kabuto responds by summoning a sixth coffin. Seeing the coffin's contents (an act that greatly disturbed him), Madara was forced to agree, though insists upon the condition that he not turn over Sasuke until after the war. The two head off to reformulate their war plans.

Madara later infiltrates Amegakure and is immediately confronted by Konan. He asks her where to find Nagato's corpse so that he can take his Rinnegan. He tries to buy back her cooperation by informing her of his involvement in Yahiko's creation of Akatsuki and Nagato's receiving the Rinnegan, but she doesn't believe him. Konan turns to paper and engulfs Madara, revealing that exploding tags have been mixed in with her paper. Madara is able to warp the explosion away - saving both of their lives - at the cost of his right arm and having a part of his mask broken.

Madara asks why Konan and Nagato would place their faith in Naruto. She replies that Naruto is the light that will defeat the darkness that is Madara. Konan then splits the lake beneath Amegakure, revealing six hundred billion explosives. She detonates them all over a period of ten minutes, longer than the five-minute period that Madara can remain intangible for. He sacrifices his left Sharingan to use Izanagi and survive the attack. Konan, believing he is dead, lets her guard down, allowing Madara to stab her from behind with a pipe. Konan frees herself and prepares to attack again. Before she does so, the endless rain over Ame stops, surprising Konan and Madara. Konan proclaims that Naruto is "a support holding the bridge that leads them to peace". Taking up the mantle of "darkness" that crushes the light, Madara grabs her by the throat and places her under a genjutsu to force her to reveal Nagato's location. He adds that she will die when the illusion ends.

When he finds Nagato's body, he see that he is smiling even in death, which Madara interpreted as his continued betrayal. He teleports Nagato's body away, replaces his blinded Sharingan with one of Nagato's Rinnegan, and gets a new arm, mask, and outfit (the new outfit came from him accepting the red cloud cloaks belonged to Konan and Nagato's era of the Akatsuki). When they receive Kisame's intel on the current location of the jinchūriki, Madara decides to go capture them. Kabuto offers to go instead if he is allowed to see the White Zetsu Army. Madara complies. Kabuto fails to capture either Naruto or B, but does bring back Yamato. They collect information from him and use him to strengthen the Zetsu Army as he had the cells of the First Hokage as well. Madara contemplates killing Yamato when they are done, but Kabuto convinces him to spare Yamato in case he is useful in the future.

Shinobi World War Arc
When preparations are complete the Zetsu Army and many of Kabuto's revived ninja mobilise for war. In the confusion, Kabuto also captures Anko Mitarashi. Madara suspects that Kabuto led her to their hideout and believes Kabuto plans to have him and the Allied Shinobi Forces destroy each other, but is confident that he is in control of the situation. Madara nevertheless demands that Kabuto kill Anko. Kabuto refuses on the grounds that he can use Anko to make the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection stronger, something that is in Madara's best interests. Madara orders Kabuto to 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 and, once Madara is satisfied, leaves. Once he is gone Madara verifies with black Zetsu that some white Zetsu's spores have been placed on Kabuto.

White Zetsu later informs Madara that Naruto and B are headed to the battlefield. Deciding to finally join the fray, Madara goes to the location of the First Division where he summons the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. While the Statue decimates the Division, Madara 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. Elsewhere, he voices his belief that his Eye of the Moon Plan will be accomplished the next day.

As day breaks, Madara is seen standing behind his own customised Six Paths of Pain which comprised of the deceased jinchūriki each having a Sharingan in their right eye socket and a Rinnegan in the left. After contemplating Kisame's intel about Naruto's abillity to sense negative emotions and how he would most surely go after the White Zetsu Army, he merely noted that everything was going as planned and set out together with his Six Paths.

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 favourite is roe.
 * Madara 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) "The moment people come to know love, they run the risk of carrying hate."
 * (To Konan) "There is no peace! There can be no hope! Nagato only believed in Naruto to try to comfort his own pitiful existence!"