Obito Uchiha

**Obito Uchiha** (うちはオビト, *Uchiha Obito*) is a member of Konohagakure's Uchiha clan. He was believed to have died during the Third Shinobi World War, his only surviving legacy being the Sharingan he gave to his teammate, Kakashi Hatake. In truth, Obito was saved from death and trained by Madara, but the events of the war left Obito disillusioned with reality, and he inherited Madara's plan to create an ideal world. Resurfacing under the names of **Tobi** (トビ, *Tobi*) and Madara Uchiha himself, Obito subtly took control of the Akatsuki, using them as a means to advance his machinations, eventually going public and starting the Fourth Shinobi World War. However, towards the war's conclusion, Obito had a change of heart and, as atonement, sacrificed his life to save the same world he sought to replace.

## Background

### Early life

Obito grew up not knowing who his parents were; in the anime, he was left in the care of his grandmother. Feeling alone in the world, Obito dreamed of becoming Hokage so that the people of the village would acknowledge his existence. He enrolled in the Academy to help him achieve that goal, where he developed a one-sided rivalry with Kakashi, whose natural talent and popularity he was jealous of. He also became a close friend of Rin Nohara, whom he eventually fell in love with. After finally graduating some years later, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi were placed on a team under the leadership of Minato Namikaze.

In the anime, as a final qualifying test, Minato gave the team a bell test to test their cooperation skills. Obito could not accomplish this on his own but, by joining forces with Rin and Kakashi, they succeeded in taking the bells, teaching Obito the value of teamwork. The team later participated in the Chūnin Exams, where Obito was defeated in the third round in a one-on-one match with Might Guy. Kakashi would go on to defeat Guy in a subsequent match, promoting him to chūnin and impressing Rin. Eager for Rin's attention, Obito trained relentlessly, eventually rising to the rank of chūnin himself. His excitement was short-lived as Kakashi soon afterwards became a jōnin, once again earning Rin's praise and Obito's resentment.

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", straining their already poor relationship. Minato was soon called to the front lines, leaving the team to complete the mission alone under Kakashi's command. The three were discovered by Iwa-nin along the way 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 trash for abandoning his friends.

Obito located the cave the Iwa-nin were using as a hideout, but was found by a camouflaged Taiseki before he could launch a rescue. Kakashi, moved by Obito's earlier words, arrived in time to save him from Taiseki's attack, but lost his left eye in the process. From his desire to help Kakashi, Obito awakened his Sharingan, allowing him to see through Taiseki's camouflage and kill him. Obito and Kakashi infiltrated the cave and released Rin from her restraints. Her captor, Kakkō, caused the cave to collapse around them. As the team ran for the exit, Kakashi was struck in his blind spot and fell. When Obito noticed that Kakashi was about to be hit by a falling boulder, Obito pushed him out of the way and became trapped in his place.

With the right side of his body crushed and no way to free himself, Obito accepted his fate and made an offering: to give Kakashi his left Sharingan as an apology for not getting him a present earlier. Rin performed the transplant and, once the procedure was finished, Kakashi used his new Sharingan to kill Kakkō. Iwa reinforcements quickly began to further compress the rubble, forcing Kakashi and Rin to leave Obito behind. As the rocks tightened around him, Obito reflected that he had finally started to get along with Kakashi and that he couldn't confess to Rin that he loved her. Kakashi and Rin were rescued by Minato and, when they returned to Konoha, Obito's name was engraved on the village's Memorial Stone.

### Saved from Death

In actuality, Obito was rescued by White Zetsu under orders from an elderly Madara. He brought Obito to Mountains' Graveyard and tended to his injuries, removing those body parts too damaged to be healed and replacing them with limbs cultivated from the cells of Hashirama Senju. Despite his injuries, Obito's right Sharingan had survived intact. Although frightened by Madara, Obito felt indebted to him for saving his life and was willing to render any assistance he could, an offer Madara made clear he would collect upon. Obito began a long rehabilitation process, eager to recover enough for him to return to Konoha and help his friends and the village with the still-ongoing war. With the help of White Zetsu and another spiral-faced Zetsu he nicknamed Guruguru, Obito became accustomed to his replacement limbs and the abilities they granted him. All the while, Madara would tell Obito about the harsh realities of the world and his plan to save it, which the young Uchiha disregarded.

During the end of his recuperation process, White Zetsu informed Obito that Kakashi and Rin were elsewhere about to be killed by Kirigakure ninja. Obito was insistent on helping them, which Guruguru offered to help with by encasing Obito with its body. Before leaving, Obito thanked Madara for all his help but said he wouldn't be returning. Madara made clear his conviction that Obito would return to him. Guruguru directed Obito to Rin and Kakashi's location, along the way informing him of Minato's absence. When they arrived they found Rin and Kakashi surrounded by Kiri-nin and Kakashi plunging his Chidori through Rin's heart. Rin's death caused each of their Sharingan to mature into Mangekyō Sharingan, a process that also caused Kakashi to pass out. Enraged by what had happened, Obito used a combination of his Mangekyō Sharingan's Kamui and the Wood Release of Guruguru's body to slaughter the Kirigakure ninja. When all of them were dead, Obito cradled Rin's lifeless body, ignoring the unconscious Kakashi.

Obito returned to Mountains' Graveyard, vowing to do anything for Madara if it could bring him together with Rin and Kakashi again. Madara explained his Eye of the Moon Plan, which would replace the contemporary world of violence and death with one where nobody ever needs to die. Obito was intrigued, determined to create a reality where he, Rin, and Kakashi could exist alongside each other. Madara imparted all of his knowledge and plans to Obito, taught him about abilities he would need moving forward, entrusted him with his possessions, and manifested Black Zetsu to act as a guide. Having left almost all that he had to Obito, Madara disconnected himself from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path that was keeping him alive and told Obito that until his revival, he was to act as Madara Uchiha.

### Moving the Plan Forward

Using Madara's name and concealing his identity, Obito moved in the shadows of the ninja world to acquire the remaining pieces of the Eye of the Moon Plan. Shortly after Madara's death, Obito and Zetsu went to Amegakure and approached the fledgling Akatsuki with an offer of support in creating the world of peace they envisioned. In truth he only needed Nagato, in whom Madara had implanted his Rinnegan several years earlier and who would be needed in the final stages of the Eye of the Moon Plan. While Obito was almost able to sway Nagato, the Akatsuki leader, Yahiko, declined; Obito claims he eventually agreed without informing Akatsuki's other members. In the anime, Obito learned of a conspiracy between Hanzō and Danzō Shimura to eliminate Yahiko. He intercepted and killed the members of Akatsuki that tried to rescue Yahiko and, once Yahiko was dead, encouraged Nagato in a new direction for the organisation, one focused on acquiring the tailed beasts. While Nagato became the Akatsuki leader and recruited powerful missing-nin for their cause, Obito took on the alias of "Tobi", and changed his personality around members to conceal his identity.

In Kirigakure, Obito at some point took control of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi (in the anime being accompanied by Pain and Konan) in effect making him the de facto Mizukage. After Kisame Hoshigaki became disillusioned by the lies of the world, Obito (as "Madara") revealed himself to Kisame and promised to help make a world of truth. Kisame became his loyal servant, one of the few Kiri-nin to knowingly work for him. During this time Obito discovered the circumstances of Rin's death: that Kiri had sealed the Three-Tails into her to make her a timebomb that would destroy Konoha. At Rin's insistence, Kakashi killed her to prevent this from happening. Obito's manipulation of the Mizukage was eventually discovered by Ao and he was forced to abandon it.

Twelve years before the start of the series, Obito visited Rin's grave in Konoha. Kakashi was already there when he arrived and Obito, watching secretly, heard him confide to Rin's grave that Minato's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, would soon be giving birth. Knowing that Kushina was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki and that the seal keeping the Nine-Tails contained within her would weaken during childbirth, Obito tracked her down on the night of October 10. He killed her Anbu bodyguards and midwives, which included the Third Hokage's wife, and took her newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki, hostage to prevent Minato from interfering. Minato was able to take Naruto from him, which distracted him long enough for Obito to escape with Kushina. He extracted the Nine-Tails from her body, placed it under his control with his Sharingan, and ordered it to destroy the village.

Minato soon afterwards arrived to help in the village's defence. Before Minato could contribute much or even tell anyone what had happened, Obito located him and tried to use Kamui to send him away and prevent further interference. Minato was able to escape with his Flying Thunder God Technique, but Obito pursued him. Minato did not recognise Obito as they fought, instead suspecting he was Madara Uchiha. He initially struggled to successfully strike Obito but, after several failed attacks, Minato finally hit him with a Rasengan and branded him with a Flying Thunder God seal, allowing him to teleport to Obito whenever he wanted. He then used a Contract Seal on Obito to release the Nine-Tails from his control. Wounded and deprived of his best weapon, Obito fled. Minato gave his life to save the village by sealing the Nine-Tails into his son, and thus never had the chance to inform anyone of Obito's involvement. Konoha's leadership nevertheless suspected an Uchiha's involvement, and to that end placed all members of the clan under heavy scrutiny.

Years after his attack, Obito attacked the Fire Daimyō's convoy en route to Konoha, placing most of the procession in a genjutsu and killing Tenma Izumo, but swiftly retreats after sensing Kakashi approaching. Years later, the Uchiha, as a result of their mistreatment, began plotting a coup d'état. Obito returned to the village with the intention of exacerbating the conflict, but was discovered by Itachi. Believing Obito was Madara, Itachi asked for his help in wiping out their clansmen, offering revenge against them for their treatment of Madara decades earlier in exchange for Obito's agreement to spare the village. Obito accepted and offered Itachi a position in Akatsuki. In the anime, during the night of the massacre, he slaughtered the Konoha Military Police Force and killed Izumi. Afterwards, he collected several Uchiha corpses in order to extract their Sharingan for his own use. He also met Danzō around this time, for unknown reasons. Following the attack, he cut his hair and brought Itachi into his organisation.

## Personality

Because he grew up without knowing his parents, Obito's childhood was marked by dreams of being acknowledged. This motivated him to become a ninja so that he could, in turn, become Hokage and have the entire village finally recognise him. When Rin acknowledged him regardless, Obito fell in love with her and aimed to earn her love in addition to the Hokage title. But Kakashi's presence, both in the classroom and later on their team, became a wall for Obito, because of Kakashi's prodigy and that he had, without trying, gained Rin's affections. Though generally kind and of unwavering loyalty to his friends and allies, Obito nevertheless formed a one-sided rivalry with Kakashi. When not in competition with Kakashi, Obito would famously perform random good deeds around Konoha, especially for the elderly, which in turn made him notoriously late. This combination of factors and Obito's naturally just heart and optimism made him easy for Madara to exploit and ultimately corrupt.

After Rin's death, Obito's determination and idealism were shattered. He became more calm and focused, no longer caring about his village, his friends, or even his name, all of them being worthless parts of a miserable world that had forced Rin to die at the hands of a person she loved. His sole commitment was to Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan and the new peaceful world it would create; every crime was a necessary evil, every murder was a sacrifice for the greater good and a life that would be restored in the new world. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the plan and, more often, his allies, turning on them the instant they no longer had any further use to him. Like Madara before him, Obito would gain these allies by preying on the darkness in their hearts and manipulating them, either by subtly corrupting their own goals or by appearing to share their beliefs. This was best seen in the existence of Akatsuki, its wildly-differing members working together because they believed the organisation would further their own ends; in actuality, they were mere tools that Obito used to forward his own agenda.

Despite how different his adult personality seemed, it was at its basest level very much the same as the person he was as a child. Obito viewed his actions as a station beyond Hokage; where the Hokage does what is best for the village, Obito felt he did what was best for the world. Though Rin remained ever-present in his thoughts, Kakashi and Minato were also present in his dreams of a new world, and it was the hope of reuniting their team under happier circumstances that motivated him. Kakashi theorised that it was this conflict between his past and present selves that drove Obito the most, especially in the events leading up to and following the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War; he became increasingly hasty with his plans, first moving Akatsuki from a secretive organisation to a force that directly challenged the Five Great Shinobi Countries, and later by prematurely reviving the Ten-Tails.

As Obito grappled with his thoughts, he at different times took a special interest in Sasuke and Naruto. With Sasuke, Obito began monitoring him after their first meeting, though he avoided further contact in honor of the agreement he made with Itachi. After Itachi's death, he approached Sasuke and brought him into his confidence, later remarking that the loss of five Akatsuki members was worth it to gain Sasuke's loyalty. Although Obito stated a number of times that he saw Sasuke as nothing more than a disposable pawn, he nevertheless kept an eye on him, intervening whenever Sasuke was at risk and always happy with signs of his ever-improving Sharingan and his growing isolation from all other allies. In a way, he saw in Sasuke the kind of person he was trying to be. With Naruto, however, he saw the person he once was: dreams of being Hokage and dedication to his friends. Because of these similarities, Obito became fixated on Naruto, hoping to demonstrate the naivety of his beliefs and the terribleness of the world so that he would come around to Obito's point of view. When Naruto refused, Obito became increasingly angry and determined to eliminate Naruto and his dreams so that he can bury the last remains of the old Obito.

Through his inability to overpower Naruto's will, Obito came to understand that Naruto's way of thinking was right all along. Moreover, he realised the reason for his conflicting desires: he had been lying to himself about his dedication to the Eye of the Moon Plan by suppressing the former Obito deep down. The persona that projected him as someone without feelings or a heart was a mask Obito wore to escape the painful truths of reality. When Naruto and his allies defeated Obito, the lie was destroyed, causing his original personality to emerge. Obito felt guilty about his actions and declared himself unworthy of seeing Rin in the afterlife. He spent the remainder of his life opposing the Eye of the Moon Plan and Madara, wishing to keep the world as it was. Believing Naruto was vital to the world's preservation, Obito ultimately gave his life to protect Naruto and his team. His new conviction even allowed him to briefly return from death not only to assure Naruto's victory, but also to make amends with Kakashi one final time before fully departing to the afterlife.

In order to further conceal himself and his actions as Madara from the public eye, Obito adopted the name, personality and mannerisms of the aforementioned Zetsu he befriended during his recovery; Which he played up the role of a happy-go-lucky idiot who annoyed most members of Akatsuki. Deidara, in particular, was easily provoked by his vanity and lack of respect, often retaliating against him with comical violence. Kisame, on the other hand, appreciated Tobi's ability to brighten up a gloomy organisation such as theirs. The anime showed that Tobi appeared to have a liking for dango, and continued to act like a fool even when nobody else was around. After first meeting Sasuke, Obito abandoned the Tobi persona – except for during a brief encounter with Konoha ninja. As "Tobi", Obito would deactivate his Sharingan to prevent suspicion from arousing whenever he didn't need it. Even without the Tobi persona, Obito had developed a morbid sense of humour, sometimes making jokes, if perverse ones.