Tobi

also known as in Akatsuki, was formerly Zetsu's subordinate. Madara became a full Akatsuki member after Sasori's death and afterwards wore the same ring as Sasori having recovered it after his death and taking his place as Deidara's partner. After Deidara's death, he revealed his real name and that he had been the one giving Pein orders, making him the true leader of Akatsuki.



Background
Madara Uchiha is the founder of the Uchiha clan. For reasons unknown, Madara's relation with Konohagakure, the Uchiha clan's home village, eventually became disrupted, and Madara left the village. The First Hokage, however, chased after Madara, and fought him at the Valley of the End, the battle ending with Madara's defeat. To commemorate the battle, two statues, of Madara and the First Hokage, were carved into the earth around the waterfall.

While this has not been verified, Jiraiya suspects Madara had some connection to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's attack on Konohagakure many years after Madara's death. The demon fox himself seems to have a connection to both Madara and the Uchiha clan, commenting to Sasuke Uchiha that his chakra is just as evil as Madara's.

Madara also seems to have a connection to the founding of the organization Akatsuki. While the organization's founding has not yet been detailed, it can be presumed Madara founded Akatsuki and placed Pein as the figure-head leader, with Madara giving Pein orders from the background. Outside of Pein, the only members who are shown knowing Madara's position as the true leader are Konan and Zetsu.

The Dark History of Uchiha: The Bloodline ofTengu

Hyuuga clan is one of the oldest clans in Konoha. They have been there ever since the establishment of the hidden village. Many years ago there was a girl from Hyuuga clan who fell in love with an outsider. She decided to marry herself to the young man despite the strong protests from her own clan. But this man was no ordinary human. In fact, this man was not a human at all. His name was Sojobo. He was the King of Tengu.

There are two types of tengus, Karasu tengu (a crow-like creature with beak and wings) and Konoha tengu (also known as Yamabushi tengu). Sojobo was a Konoha tengu. He had long nose and white hair with a pair of black wings on his back. As the King of Tengu, Sojobo possessed some very mystical powers. He carried a fan made of Fatsia leaf that could create a storm (therefore people sometimes call this type of leaf as Tengu no Uchiwa or Tengu’s fan). He could teleport himself or any other things from one place to another. He could also communicate with people telepathically or even invade their minds and drive them to madness. Besides, Sojobo was also known for his shapeshifting ability. He sometimes transformed himself into human to interact with people. Anyway, this girl from Hyuuga was in love with Sojobo taking the human form without knowing his true identity. She married him shortly after they met each other. A year or two later, she was pregnant and gave birth to their first son. Sojobo named this son Uchiha, Uchiha Madara, after Uchiwa which means fan. And of course as we know, fan also later became the symbol of this new clan.

Everything was good. Uchiha Madara soon grew up to become a very powerful shinobi. He not only inherited the Kekkei Genkai from his mother but with the Tengu blood inside him the Byakugan had evolved into an even more dreadful form—the Sharingan! This new bloodline had 2 levels: Normal Sharingan and Mangekyou Sharingan. Like his tengu father, Madara possessed some incredible magical powers. He was able to use telepathy to invade people’s minds, or even teleport himself across a short distance. When he turned on the Mangekyou Sharingan (he had the normal Sharingan on 24/7 just like his Hyuuga kin), the eyes would further intensify his powers and bring him even closer to a tengu form. He had developed 3 jutsus under this state, namely Tsukiyomi (to control people’s minds and drive them insane), Amaterasu (to teleport objects into another dimension)* and Susanoo (to create a storm like that created by a Tengu’s fan).

Because of his bravery and almost unparalleled powers, Madara soon became a hero in his people’s eyes despite his young age. He became very close friends with Shodaime and together they took up the responsibility to protect the Konoha village they established. Madara founded the first police force in the Konoha and swore to protect his people with his life.

But good things do not last long. As Madara was about to reach his adulthood, Sojobo began to reveal his true intention. Sojobo didn’t marry the girl from Hyuuga out of love. He was only looking for a perfect body, a container (probably to achieve greater powers), and he figured the best way was to create one with his own blood. He was planning on taking over Madara’s body once he reached his adulthood. It didn’t take Uchiha Madara long to find out this appalling truth. He felt a mixture of shock and anger. He felt he was being used but he wasn’t going to give in such easily, at least not without a fight. But Madara knew only too well that no matter how strong he was he stood no chance against the King of Tengu. Out of desperation he sought for the legendary Bijuu—Kyuubi (the God of Fire).

Kyuubi was very impressed by Madara’s abilities. A secret pact was made and Kyuubi agreed to lend his power and chakra to Uchiha Madara. Soon Madara mastered the katon and he could even cast a dark fire that would burn for 7 days and 7 nights after performing the Amaterasu. But even with these newly gained powers and a huge supply of chakra from the Kyuubi, Uchiha Madara was only able to beat his demon father by a hair's breadth. He couldn’t finish him once and for all but only managed to seal him up. However, the seal he used was a very special one. To break the seal it requires the Kyuubi's chakra and also not one but 3 Uchiha members who can wield the Mangekyou Sharingan. Each MS user has to cast a different MS jutsu at the same time and when the 3 jutsus--Tsukiyomi, Amaterasu and Susanoo--combine, the great evil will be unleashed. It's a tall order and Madara thought it would be enough to seal up the demon for eternity. But what Madara didn’t anticipate was that this seal itself would bring a bloody massacre upon his own clan many decades later…

Here I will derail a bit and talk about the relationship between Shodaime and Madara. When Shodai found out about the secret pact between Madara and Kyuubi he was enraged. He thought it was hunger for greater power that led his best friend to the Kyuubi. Madara didn’t explain to him either because he didn’t want anyone to know he was a half-demon. Conflicts began to appear between the two who were once close to each other. The intense hostility eventually resulted in a great battle at the Valley of the End. (You might think that I depicted Madara as too strong a character and therefore feel skeptical about Shodai being able to rival both MS and Kyuubi’s power at the same time. Well you better not forget that Shodai had the ability to suppress Kyuubi’s chakra and his darkness jutsu and suiton might be very good counter-moves to Madara's Sharingan and katon respectively as well.)

Many years had come into past since Sojobo was sealed. The tengu’s blood in Uchiha clan was now no longer as pure as it once was. It was gradually being “diluted” by constant marriages with non-Uchihas over the generations. Now even the Normal Sharingan was possessed by only the elite few among Uchihas, let alone the Mangekyou Sharingan. But the dark history of the clan was anything but forgotten. A tengu shrine was built underneath the Nakano temple by some of the early Uchihas to keep all the secrets of the clan inside (including killing your loved one to gain MS which was discovered by some later Uchiha). Once an Uchiha member was thought to be reliable enough he would be informed about the secret meeting place and it would then become his life-long obligation to keep these secrets from outsiders. The Uchihas considered this dark history as an unspeakable shame and swore to protect the glory and dignity of their clan with their lives no matter what happened.

20 years ago, a new member was born into an Uchiha family. He soon proved himself to be a prodigy, even by the high standards of the Uchiha. He graduated at the top of his class at age 7, mastered the Sharingan at 8, became a Chunin at 10 and an ANBU squad leader at 13. His name was Uchiha Itachi. As Itachi was selected to become an ANBU his father Fugaku felt that it was the right time to tell him everything. Itachi learned about the Mangekyou Sharingan and the origin of his clan from his father. Deep inside his mind, an evil shadow began to take shape…

One night, when all men of Uchiha were supposed to gather at the secret meeting place two of them were absent. Itachi lured his best friend Uchiha Shisui to the Nakano river and started his horrendous plan. He assaulted and killed Uchiha Shisui on that night and obtained the accursed eye powers—Mangekyou Sharingan from the death of his friend. The next day when people found Uchiha Shisui’s body they also found a suicide note grabbed in his hand. But of course this note wasn’t really written by Shisui. Itachi forged his handwriting with the Sharingan to make it look like a suicide. What was written on the note is important because it reflects Itachi's feeling at that time.

Always living with fear—fear that people may find out the secrets of their clan, fear that people may know Uchihas are actually descendants of demon—they all swore to take the secrets with them to the graveyard. This was the miserable life of every Uchiha member. Itachi was tired of all these. He could see no future for his clan. He didn’t understand why his people felt ashamed of their own past. He didn’t understand why his people didn’t see their superiority to the normal human beings. He didn’t understand why his people decided to seal up such a great power and not to use it. Itachi had lost all his hope for the Uchiha clan because of the pathetic “path” they had chosen.

From the moment Itachi heard about the origin of his clan he felt a weird sense of pleasure and superiority. He felt he was somehow more special than the others. Then his sick and twisted mind had gone even further. He wanted to set the tengu free. He was willing to sacrifice his body in exchange for probably the strongest power the world had ever seen. He was ready to offer his body to the Tengu King.

Soon Itachi had put his thoughts into action. When he learned about the Akatsuki’s plan to capture the Bijuus he decided to join them. He needed their help to get the Kyuubi’s chakra. But that’s not all. Itachi still had to find another 2 MS users. After awhile, he came across a second MS user who agreed to help him carry out his plan. Now all he needed was the third and last MS user.

Itachi knew his clan members would never kill their loved ones to get MS. He despised them. They were a bunch of cowards, useless …oh wait, Itachi suddenly came up with an idea—he could still use them to achieve his purpose. He could use them to make his little brother the third MS user…

On a full-moon night, the ancient blood inside Itachi finally awakened and he had completely lost his mind. He killed his entire clan including his parents. Then he waited for his little brother Sasuke to come home. He wanted him to know he was the one who did it. He used Tsukiyomi on his brother to make sure such a traumatic picture would stay with him for the rest of his life. He wanted Sasuke to hate him. He wanted Sasuke to hate him enough to kill his own friend and activate the Mangekyou Sharingan. He told him about the secret meeting place so that he would find out everything. He wanted Sasuke to take the path he had paved for him—the path of an avenger...

Personality
Madara is very calm and serious, a trait he shares with most of the Akatsuki. He speaks with less formal diction, such as the using honorifics, and shows typically 'villainous' arrogance. Dispite this apparent arrogance, he is not above complimenting the the abilities of Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, if only for the interest of Sasuke's Sharingan and Naruto's tailed beast.

Tobi
For whatever reasons, Madara eventually took on the guise of and was placed within Akatsuki as Zetsu's subordinate. As Tobi, Madara wears an orange mask the covers his entire face outside of his right eye. Furthermore, Tobi has several bolts or pins present on the arms of his uniform, obscured by his Akatsuki cloak. While acting as Tobi, unlike others within Akatsuki, Madara is carefree and goofy, and is also implied by Zetsu to be relatively young. While Tobi, Madara also uses a very formal and correct manner of speech.

While Tobi greatly respects his other members, calling Deidara Deidara-senpai, most of the other members tend to get easily annoyed by Tobi. Deidara, who believes all within Akatsuki should be serious and calm, is not pleased with Tobi's childish personality, and frequently attacks Tobi in a comedic fashion when annoyed. Kisame, on the other hand, somewhat appreciates Tobi's ability to brighten up a gloomy organization such as theirs.

As Tobi, Madara has not yet been seen wearing a forehead protector, though his Uchiha origins suggest his home village is Konohagakure.

Abilities
Madara's area of expertise or specific powers remain unclear, as he has never been shown fighting or utilizing jutsu. He and Deidara were able to defeat the Three Tails, but Madara (as Tobi) was never shown doing anything but running from it. After the battle, which goes largely unwitnessed, he claims to have knocked it out with a single attack. Deidara disagrees with the assessment, claiming that it was his "artistic contribution" (exploding clay) that allowed them to win. Madara (as Tobi) is also shown planting Deidara's clay minefields underground during a later battle.

Madara shows the ability to recover from what are presumably debilitating or fatal blows. After being slashed across the midsection by Sasuke's sword, Madara (as Tobi) collapses, only to stand up again a few seconds later and complain about the speed of the attack, and later when Naruto hits him in the back with a Rasengan. The attacks literally phase through him, avoiding damage.

Madara also shows the ability to travel long distances within relatively short timespans, escaping the final explosion created by Deidara and reappear in Amegakure, then travel to the Valley of the End all within a very short time span.

After he escaped Deidara's final explosion, he revealed he had the Sharingan, one visible through the opening of his mask. The demon fox mentioned that Madara Uchiha has more sinister chakra than his own. According to Jiraiya, Madara was the only person capable of summoning the demon fox, which was said to only come where human malice collects and festers.

Rescue Gaara arc
Madara is first introduced as Tobi alongside Zetsu collecting the rings of Deidara and Sasori. While Sasori's ring is collected, Deidara, who managed to live, appears and reclaims his own ring. After annoying Deidara three times, Deidara responds by comically choking Tobi with his feet. Using Sasori's ring, Tobi manages to join Akatsuki, though Zetsu claims isn't as easy as collecting the ring.

Hidan & Kakuzu Arc
Tobi, who by now has successfully joined Akatsuki, is partnered with Deidara and sent to collect the Three-Tailed Beast. After Deidara reveals that this is Tobi's mission, Tobi, panicking, is seen only running away from the Three-Tails in a comic fashion. After the battle, which goes mostly unwitnessed, Tobi triumphantly claims to have defeated Three-Tails in a single blow, though Deidara disagrees. Tobi later falls asleep atop the Three-Tails, much to the anger of Deidara, who "wakes him up" by detonating clay next to him.

Current arc
Tobi is seen following Deidara, who is chasing Sasuke Uchiha, and eventually join Deidara's battle with Sasuke, though he does little besides laying mines for him and serving as a distraction. When Deidara prepares to use C4, Deidara orders Tobi to flee, though, while escaping C4, Tobi is later shown getting killed by Deidara's final explosion.

It is later revealed, however, that Madara lived, as he is seen ordering Pein in Amegakure just a few minutes after Deidara's death. Madara gives Pein the order to personally capture Naruto Uzumaki. Madara then travels to the Valley of the End, and while resting there comments that Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan is grows more powerful.

Later, he appears as Tobi to stop Naruto, Hinata, Yamato, Kakashi, Sakura, Shino, Sai, and Kiba from searching for Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha, and phases through all attacks the group sends.

Past Speculation
Before Tobi is revealed to be Madara Uchiha, several fans hypothesized that he could be Obito Uchiha, as his only shown eye was the opposite of the eye that was inserted in Kakashi, which replace Kakashi's destroyed left eye in the manga-exclusive Kakashi Gaiden, and their similar hair styles. The spelling of Obito was also similar to Tobi, creating the fan reference of ObiTobi, or Tobito.

Another fan speculation is that Pein, who now is discovered to have multiple bodies, could have used the remains of Obito to reconstruct the body and revive Madara in the body of Obito, which contained Sharingan only within the right eye, the same eye that Madara has been shown using the Sharingan. It is also possible that Pein employed Kakuzu, who was able to reattach Deidara's arms after they were severed, and could have done similarily with Obito and Madara.

There are also speculations that Madara Uchiha is the third Uchiha clan member with the ability to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan as mentioned by Itachi Uchiha.