Who is Tobi in Naruto?

Obito never knew who his parents were and was raised by his grandmother. He was a generally lonely child. and he dreamed of one day becoming Hokage so that the people would recognize his ability and be loved across the village. So much so that, he enrolled himself in the Leaf Village’s academy, where he would develop a rivalry with the prodigious Kakashi Hatake and befriend a girl by the name of Rin Nohara, whom he secretly harbored feelings for.

After graduating, all three of them would eventually become teammates under the guidance of the future Fourth Hokage himself, Minato Namikaze. Minato would even perform the same bell test that Kakashi would later run for Naruto, Sasuske and Sakura near the beginning of the series, indicating this is where he learned it from.

Obito had a one sided rivalry with Kakashi, envying his innate talent and general popularity but as hard as he tried, he always seemed one step behind. When he had finally reached the rank of Chunnin after much hard work, Kakashi shortly after reached the rank of Jounin. He constantly found himself overshadowed, and it would be these seeds that would eventually see him turn towards the dark side.

During a critical mission in the Third Shinobi World War, Rin is captured by enemy forces and Kakashi argued to leave her behind in order to complete their mission. This drove Obito into a rage as he accused Kakashi of being worse than trash for considering abandoning their teammates and left on his own to rescue her. Upon reaching enemy territory, where Rin was being held, Obito was clearly outmatched but his words stirred the typically pragmatic Kakashi into action and he comes to his rescue. Obito awakens to his innate Sharigan bloodline trait in the process of the battle.

Tragedy would soon strike however, as in a last ditch effort, Rin’s captor Kakko causes the cave they’re in to collapse. During their escape, Kakashi is struck in his blind spot, and is about to be crushed when Obito pushes him out of the way and sacrifices himself in the process but has half of his body crushed under the boulders. Accepting his fate, Obito offers his awakened Sharingan in his left eye to Kakashi, with the now freed Rin performing the transplant. With time running short and the cave collapsing further, Rin and Kakashi escape, leaving Obito behind…

However, this would not be the true end of Obito. Madara sent a White Zetsu to rescue him, where he would be rejuvenated with the power of Hashirama Senju cells replacing his crushed body parts. After a period of recovery, Obito was eager to return to the battlefield with the war still raging on. Being told of Kakashi and Rin being in imminent danger, he rushes to their aid, only to see the horrible scene of Kakashi impaling Rin upon his Lightning Blade technique which causes both of them to unlock Mangekyo Sharingan. Obito would latter use it to slaughter the enemy forces that had surrounded them. It would be this scene that causes him to fully commit himself to Madara’s sinister plans.

Obito’s abilities were generally unremarkable as a genin, clearly outclassed by his teammate Kakashi. It isn’t until he awakens his Sharingan innate to the Uchiha clan and the visual prowess granted by it does he start to show potential promise as a shinobi. After surviving his near death encounter, the implementation of Hashirama Senju’s cells, and training under the tutelage of Madara Uchiha, he is cultivated into a shinobi of almost peerless ability

The White Zetsu cells grafted to his body grant him deep reserves of chakra, allowing him to use several techniques in succession that would greatly tax lesser shinobi. He also has the ability to both absorb and transfer Chakra. He also possesses an incredible level of physical ability that lets him keep up with the likes of Naruto within his Nine Tails Chakra mode. The artificial nature of his body means that even if he is significantly injured in battle, he can easily have his body parts either quickly regenerated, or replaced outright.

With Nagato’s passing after giving his life to revive the Hidden Leaf, Obito also comes across the Rinnegan and has it implanted within his left eye, growing his array of abilities even wider. Despite only being capable of handling a single eye, he is still capable of using most of its latent abilities.

Obito possesses a wide berth of abilities from a combination of his innate bloodline traits, intense training under the tutelage of Madara Uchiha and as well as the acquisition of powers from various sources, That includes his infusion of Senju cells as well as the implantation of the Rinnegan, which makes him one of the most fearsome threats in the entire series. He is also the Ten Tails Jinchuuriki, leading him to be capable of mass nullification of chakra based techniques

1. Sharingan- Track chakra signatures and predict movements, Jutsu copying
2. Hashirama Senju Cells-Wood Release jutsu, rapid regeneration. Capable of controlling Ten Tails
3. Mangekyō Sharingan- Kamui, Teleportation,
4. Rinnegan: Six Paths Techniques .
5. Ten Tails Jinchuuriki- Chakra absorption., Jutsu nullification

Even under his sillier whimsical disguise as Tobi, Obito’s skills are put plainly on display as he manages to hold up eight of the Hidden Leaf’s shinobi including the likes of Naruto himself.

Tobi (Obito Uchiha) vs Team 7 and Team 8:

Obito Uchiha vs Kakashi Hatake:

Tobi (Obito Uchiha) vs Fourth Hokage Minato Uzumaki:

“Those who abandon their friends are even worse than scum. If I’m going to be called scum either way, I’d rather break the rules! And if that’s not being a proper shinobi, then I’ll destroy that idea!”

“Wherever light strikes, there will always be shadows. So as long as there is a concept of victors, the vanquished will also similarly exist.”

"You'll probably have to suffer again from now on… but don't change, keep going your way. You told me that you never change your words… that's your ninja way. Right? Naruto, become Hokage… at all costs."

“Love gives birth to sacrifice, which brings hatred and lets you know pain.”

“A real leader may let others step over his corpse, but he’ll never step over his comrades.”

Q. How old is Obito/Tobi?

A. Obito is 13 during the events of Kakashi Gaiden and a 31-year-old during Shippuden.

Q. Is Obito related to Sasuke?

A. As they are both members of the Uchiha clan, they are certainly related albeit it is unclear how directly this is the case.

Q. How does Obito/Tobi die?

A. After being defeated, similarly to Nagato, Obito wishes to sacrifice his life in order to restore the lives of those he has taken over the course of the series. However, his attempt at this is hijacked by Black Zetsu, and is forced to revive Madara instead. In the final battle against Kaguya, he imbues Kakashi with his power one last time, and after their victory joins Rin in the afterlife.