When Tobi declared himself as the leader of Akatsuki and as Madara Uchiha, it was one of the most shocking reveals in the Naruto series. It came out of nowhere with how goofy Tobi always was around Deidara, but it all made sense once fans stopped to think about it. That’s the sign of a good twist.
One thing was also always clear–Tobi was never actually the real Madara Uchiha. With the timeline as it was, it was always going to be someone else and all signs pointed to Obito Uchiha being the culprit.
10 Only One Sharingan Was Ever Shown
One of the biggest giveaways was the fact that Tobi only had one Sharingan ever shown. After it was revealed that Kakashi received one of Obito’s Sharingan eyes, it felt clear that Madara or Tobi was Obito the entire time.
What other Uchiha would be running around with only one of them? Madara also would’ve been incredibly old by this time, leaving no logical way it could have still been him. He’d have been limping around like Onoki was.
9 Tobi’s Sharingan Ability Was Similar To Kakashi
As if having only one visible Sharingan wasn’t enough, the fact that his Sharingan seemingly did the exact same thing as Kakashi’s was a direct giveaway of how tied together they were.
Kakashi even started to piece it together in the anime by figuring out how similar their Sharingan abilities were. It’s actually a surprise that it took the cast that long, considering just how obvious it was. Granted, they never dealt with Tobi extensively until the war.
8 Obito Was The Only Named Uchiha Mentioned Aside From Shisui & Madara Who Had Yet To Be Seen
There was never any chance that the man behind the mask was going to be someone whose name was never mentioned. It would have been anti-climatic and stripped away the momentum created after he claimed the position as the Akatsuki’s leader.
That only left three options–Shisui, Madara, and Obito. Of the three, only Obito made sense as Madara was far too old and Shisui had already lost both of his eyes before he died. He was even the right age to pull off everything within the timeline.
7 He Targeted Konoha When Minato Was Hokage
While the birth of Naruto was the most opportune time to strike to gain control of the Nine-Tails, it had to feel a little extra special for Obito to get back at his former mentor, Minato. He hadn’t been making any moves on any of the other tailed beasts at the time, so his decision to strike then had to have a deeper meaning, despite what he said. He would’ve been able to take everything away from Minato, just as everything had been taken from him when his master failed to save him or Rin.
6 He Turned Kirigakure Into The Bloody Mist
At first, what he did with Yagura was merely to give him control of a country, making him the defacto Mizukage. That had to have changed slightly once he found out the truth about Rin, finding out that Kirigakure planned to make her into a timed bomb that would destroy Konoha via the Three-Tails. After that, there are no doubts he made sure Kirigakure slowly tore itself apart during the bloody mist era of the village.
5 He Worked With Itachi To Eliminate The Uchiha Clan
Obito deciding to help Itachi eliminate the Uchiha was a rare case of helping his cause while still maintaining his cover. On the surface, it’d seem like something Madara would want to do, given how the clan treated him.
It also helped eliminate an immediate threat to his plans, weakening Konoha in the process. What gave it away as Obito is the fact he was collecting the bodies for his plans, something Madara would never do.
4 His Fire Release Jutsu Was Known Only By The Uchiha
As Danzo and Kakashi showed, having a Sharingan didn’t necessarily make someone an Uchiha. What helped solidify it is the fact that he knew fire techniques that only the Uchiha Clan knew–from the Uchiha Flame Formation to the Blast Wave Wild Dance, all of which were techniques used by Madara in the past. What made it seem like Obito was his use of the Great Fireball Technique, an ability he was always proficient with as a young kid.
3 The Way He Talked To Pain Upon His Reveal Made It Seem As If Madara Was Another Person
When talking about oneself, people don’t usually speak the way Tobi did toward Pain upon his reveal. After he asked Pain to go after Naruto, he stated that soon his plans (or Uchiha Madara’s plans) would come to fruition. Outside of Doctor Doom in marvel comics, that isn’t how a normal person talks about themself, and it gave away that it was someone else beneath the mask. It made him come off like an underling, which Obito was in reality.
2 He Kept Trying To Encourage Sasuke & Naruto To Fight Each Other
The way Obito continually kept trying to pit Naruto and Sasuke against each other felt like more than him ensuring they could never team up to defeat him. The way he kept trying to fuel Sasuke’s hatred made it seem like he wanted Sasuke to feel just as he had when he saw Kakashi kill Rin. He wanted Sasuke as miserable as he was, and the only way to do that was to have him eliminate his best friend. It was petty and something only Obito would try to do.
1 Madara Was In The Sixth Box
One of the biggest late giveaways to Obito’s identity was his discussion with Kabuto. The two had a tense talk over teaming up, and just when it seemed like Obito was going to refuse Kabuto’s aide, Kabuto revealed a sixth risen body, one that shocked Obito to his core. While the body was never revealed, it’s reasonable to assume that Madara was in the casket, revealing that Kabuto knew who Obito truly was, forcing them into an arrangement.