Obito Uchiha

Lore & Background

Obito first appears in "Kakashi Chronicle", a Naruto side story. A child living through the Third Great Ninja War, Obito (Kakashi's teammate on Team Minato) wanted to become the Hokage of Konohagakure, and had an unrequited love for his teammate Rin. When he and Kakashi rescue the kidnapped Rin during a mission, Obito's right side is crushed by a boulder following a cave-in. Thinking he was going to die, Obito had Rin transplant his left Sharingan into Kakashi to replace Kakashi's lost left eye. Obito's death has a profound effect on Kakashi; he begins taking on his mannerisms such as showing up late to everything and adopts Obito's philosophy of how those who abandoned their comrades are "worse than scum". Late in Part II of the manga, it is revealed that Obito was saved by an elderly Madara Uchiha and outfitted with prosthetics. He becomes Madara's apprentice, and Madara has Obito witness Rin's death at the hands of a reluctant Kakashi to break his spirit. Concluding that he can use the power of the Tailed Beasts to destroy the current reality and create a utopia, Obito adopts Madara's name and disguises his voice after the ninja's death; he then arranges similar events for Nagato with Yahiko's death to create the current incarnation of the Akatsuki. While Kushina Uzumaki (then jinchuriki of Kurama, the Nine-Tails Kyuubi), is giving birth to Naruto Uzumaki, Obito mounts an attack on the Leaf Village, Konoha. He releases the seal over the Kyuubi from Kushina while she is weak during birth, and places the Nine-Tails under his control, releasing it on Konoha to tear the village apart and wreak havoc. During his infiltration, he encounters his former mentor Minato Namikaze (the fourth Hokage) and they fight. Minato defeats Obito, and releases Kurama from Obito's control. Obito then flees, leaving Konoha to deal with the Nine-Tails, resulting in Minato and Kushina's deaths. The character has a behind-the-scenes role in the first half of Part II.

In Their Own Story

Adopting the identity of the spiral-patterned Zetsu which served as his bodysuit during his recuperation, Tobi, Obito poses as the carefree flunky and becomes Sasori's replacement and Deidara's partner early in Part II. After Itachi's death, Obito takes a special interest in Sasuke Uchiha and takes him under his wing by revealing the truth about their clan's massacre. He presents himself as Madara after Nagato's death, revealing the "Eye of the Moon" Plan to the Kage and explaining his intention to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki to bring all life within an Infinite Tsukuyomi. After the Kage refuses to surrender to him, Obito declares the Fourth Great Ninja War and forms a reluctant alliance with Kabuto Yakushi, who blackmails him with the real Madara's body. Obito goes to retrieve Nagato Uzumaki's Rinnegan (輪廻眼; lit. "Saṃsāra Eye") from his body. In the process, he is opposed by Konan. Their argument, in which Konan affirms her faith in Naruto, and Obito (still impersonating Madara) claims his original ownership of the Rinnegan, quickly evolves into a fight. Konan attempts to catch him in various large-scale paper bomb detonations, but he manages to trick her with the Izanagi technique, and stabs her in the back; he obtains the location of Nagato's body through genjutsu, and proceeds to choke her to death. He retrieves Nagato's body and Rinnegan successfully. Obito converts the reanimated bodies of the captured Jinchuriki into his own "Six Paths of Pain" (ペイン六道, Pein Rikudō) to use the captured Tailed Beasts' power. He fights Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B, who stop the Six Paths of Pain and leave Obito to recover the Tailed Beasts and revive the Ten-Tails. After Kabuto reanimates Madara Uchiha's body to aid in the war; Obito's identity is revealed as his mask is shattered during a fight with Naruto, Killer B, Might Guy, and Kakashi. As the rest of the allied shinobi forces arrive to battle him and Madara, Obito uses the Ten-Tails to bring despair and challenges Naruto's will, attempting to defy his past self as Naruto reminds him of himself when he was younger. After directing Kakashi to impale him, destroying the seal in his heart, Obito becomes the Ten-Tails host but is defeated by Naruto and Sasuke with the support of the Allied Shinobi Forces. As the Ten-Tails is extracted from him, Naruto appears in his subconscious and convinces him to return to their side. A guilt-ridden Obito tries to revive everyone who died in the war, like Nagato before him, only to be possessed by Black Zetsu and forced to resurrect Madara. On the brink of death, Obito turns on Madara, restrains Black Zetsu and moves to save Naruto's life. His defiance is short-lived, and he is left comatose after Madara forcefully reclaims his Rinnegan. Naruto uses his power to re...

Reader's Guide

Obito Uchiha serves as the primary antagonist for much of the latter half of the series, embodying the destructive potential of grief and the danger of absolute idealism. His arc is a tragic descent from a hopeful student to a nihilistic warlord, driven by the belief that reality itself is a cruel joke. He possesses unique abilities derived from his Sharingan and Rinnegan, most notably Kamui, which allows him to teleport himself or objects into a dimensional pocket, making him nearly untouchable in combat. His defining moments include the cave incident that shattered his innocence, the manipulation of Madara Uchiha, and his eventual redemption during the Fourth Great Ninja War. In his final hours, he sheds the mask of Tobi to aid Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi Hatake against the resurrected Kaguya Otsutsuki. He dies as a hero once more, reconciling with his past and finding peace in the afterlife alongside Rin.

Did You Know?

• Obito makes a cameo appearance on the cover of the manga's 16th chapter in a picture with Kakashi Hatake, before his first story appearance.
• Kishimoto said that by chapter 16 he had conceived a storyline about Obito being an Uchiha and how it would affect Kakashi.
• Obito's nickname 'Tobi' comes from him calling the spiral-patterned Zetsu 'Guruguru', an onomatopoeia for turning round and round or going around in circles.
• In the English version, Obito is voiced by Michael Yurchak and his younger self is voiced by Vic Mignogna.
• In 2023, Obito was ranked as the 11th most popular character in the results of the Naruto Worldwide Character Popularity Vote.