Uchiha Madara

Madara Uchiha (うちはマダラ, Uchiha Madara), who posed as Tobi (トビ) when first introduced, is a founder of Konohagakure, Akatsuki and the Uchiha clan. When he joined Akatsuki as Tobi, replacing Sasori, he was partnered with Deidara, revealing himself as Madara after Deidara's death. He has been recognized by Kisame Hoshigaki as once being the Mizukage of Kirigakure, although it is unknown when. He is a major antagonist of the series, being responsible for the Nine-Tails' Attack on Konoha, being involved in the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and creating Akatsuki.

Background

Eighty years before the start of the series, Madara grew up in constant competition with his younger brother, Izuna Uchiha, who were both known as the most gifted members of their clan. Their competition led to both gaining the Mangekyō Sharingan, and, with it, they were able to take control of the Uchiha clan, Madara acting as its leader. Even by his clan's standards, Madara's chakra was unusually strong. Under his leadership, the clan conquered all they came across, but, over time, he began to lose his sight because of the Mangekyō Sharingan. To regain his vision, he took his brother's eyes (an act Madara said his brother had consented to), allowing him to continue to lead the Uchiha to prosperity.

In the years that followed, the Uchiha constantly clashed with the equally powerful Senju clan. To bring an end to the constant fighting, the leader of the Senju, Hashirama Senju, approached the Uchiha with an offering of peace. Although Madara never wanted peace with the Senju, the rest of the Uchiha wanted to end the fighting, and Madara had no choice but to go along with their decision. The Senju, the Uchiha, and all the clans they had conquered came together to form the village of Konohagakure. Against Madara's wishes, the villagers selected Hashirama as the village's First Hokage. Madara feared that Hashirama would oppress the Uchiha, and tried to rally support for challenging his leadership. Rather than help him, however, the Uchiha turned their backs on him, believing his only motives were due to pride and the desire for more power.

Abandoned by his clan, Madara left the village, later returning in order to challenge Hashirama in battle. They fought at the site that would someday be called the Valley of the End, where, although Madara called upon the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, he was defeated, and was believed to have died. Madara faded into memory, and, in time, would found Akatsuki and become Kirigakure's Mizukage. He also appears to have fought Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage at one point in his life as noted by Ē, the Fourth Raikage, although the results of that battle were left unclear.

Twelve years before the start of the series, the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha. Although Madara denied having had any involvement in the attack, Itachi Uchiha and Minato Namikaze said that the Nine-Tails was under Madara's control at the time. A few years later, he infiltrated Konoha to try and rekindle the flames of war. He was found by Itachi first, who convinced Madara to spare the village in exchange for helping to wipe out the Uchiha clan for deserting him decades earlier. Madara complied, training Itachi and providing assistance. Itachi never truly trusted Madara, however, and kept an eye on him for the rest of his life. Madara also met with Danzō around the time of the massacre, but did not see each other again until after Danzō fled the Kage Summit.

Tobi

To keep in Akatsuki's shadow, Madara eventually took on the disguise of Tobi, giving orders to Pain in secret. He wears an orange, swirl-patterned mask that reveals only his right eye. When he trained Itachi, he wore a slightly different mask with black stripe-like patterns on it, and he had a longer hair cut than he does now. His hair is cut down completely from the days of Konoha's founding, and he wears a uniform consisting of a number of bolts and pins, which is usually concealed by his Akatsuki cloak.

While acting as Tobi, he is carefree and goofy, something that annoys most of the other members. Deidara, who believed all within Akatsuki should be serious and calm, was not pleased with Tobi's childish personality, and frequently attacked the latter in a comedic fashion when annoyed. Apparently, Madara is very committed to keeping his identity secret, as he has been seen keeping up his goofy appearance even when no-one was around (at least during the anime's filler arc). Kisame and Zetsu, on the other hand, somewhat appreciate Tobi's ability to brighten up a gloomy organization such as theirs. However, once his identity is revealed to everyone in Akatsuki, "Tobi" has abandoned his goofy nature and adopted Madara's personality.

Personality

Compared to his Tobi personality, Madara's true personality is considerably calmer and much more serious, but he still has a habit of joking around and disrespecting everyone around him. Despite his current limitations in battle, he is extremely arrogant, insulting even the strongest ninja to their faces and treating Akatsuki members as mere tools. He even spoke derogatively to Pain, who was recognized as the strongest in the Akatsuki and possessed the Rinnegan. There are only a handful of exceptions that he admires, the most prominent being Hashirama Senju.

Madara has shown great ability in manipulating others to do his work for him. Minato believed that he was using Pain's ideology against him in order to control him. He similarly befriended Sasuke in order to get him to join Akatsuki by telling him about Itachi's past, even though he has an apparent interest in Sasuke and his abilities. He appears to have a somewhat twisted outlook with respect to this, often avoiding responsibility by claiming that people acted voluntarily when they were really coerced or manipulated by him.

Madara possesses an extreme hatred towards the Senju clan and Konohagakure, as he is a descendant of the elder brother who was passed over being the successor of the Sage of the Six Paths. This hatred was compounded when the Senju stripped the Uchiha of their powers and subdued them after the founding of the village, which chose Hashirama Senju to be Hokage over him. Madara admired Hashirama the most for his power, but still hated him for being a member of the Senju Clan. This hatred led Madara to a life dedicated to revenge. Madara believes that all Uchiha are destined to walk the same path of revenge against the Senju and Konohagakure, and that Naruto, who has inherited the Senju's Will of Fire, is fated to battle Sasuke, who has inherited the Uchiha's hatred, even if Madara himself must force them to do so.

Perhaps as a consequence of his old age, Madara seems to enjoy sitting down and taking his time with things, especially when telling stories, just like he told Itachi's story to Sasuke and his Moon's Eye Plan to the Kage and the samurai.

Trivia

• The phrase "Tobi is a good boy" has proven to be very popular among the Naruto community. Although not said by Tobi himself (Zetsu's white half actually uttered the phrase to his black half after stating Tobi's intentions of joining Akatsuki wasn't so simple to accomplish), many have found the comment to be rather hilarious and, as such, Tobi is depicted as a carefree child or a good-natured character in many fanmade art and videos on YouTube while incorporating the phrase or a parody of it.
• Madara (斑) can be translated as "spots". Tobi can be translated as "jump" (飛), or as "kite" (鳶). The latter translation connects Tobi with Taka through the Japanese proverb "a hawk born from a kite" (鳶が鷹を生む, tobi ga taka o umu), meaning that an extraordinarily gifted child can be born from ordinary parents.
• Tobi's first two video game appearances are in Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 3 and Naruto Shippūden: Ryujinki.
• Tobi's mask made a cameo appearance in the ending omake of Shippūden Episode 129 along with Baki's face and Haku's mask.
• Tobi appears to have a liking for dango as seen in episode 99.
• Madara makes a brief appearance at the end of the third Naruto OVA special, Naruto: The Cross Roads with Sasuke wearing an Akatsuki cloak.
• According to the third Naruto databook (despite Tobi and Madara being the same person, the databook gives them separate entries):
  • Madara's hobby is falconry. As Tobi, his hobby is accompanying "Deidara-senpai".
  • Madara's favorite food is inarizushi, while his least favorite is roe.
  • Madara's favorite phrase is "beating someone hands down" (鎧袖一触, Gaishū Isshoku). As Tobi, his favorite phrase is given as "secret (?)" (秘密 (?), himitsu (?).
  • ONE MORE THING! TOBI IS MADARA! NOT OBITO!
    

Uchiha Itachi

BackGround

Itachi was born into the Uchiha clan and was praised by all as the best of his generation - a genius above all others. Even by the standards of the battle-adept Uchiha clan, Itachi's prowess far outshone them. However, not even his family, friends, or teachers could understand him. When he was only 4, Itachi had already witnessed countless lives lost due to the Third Great Shinobi World War, which emotionally traumatized him and turned him into a pacifist. At age 7, he graduated from the Ninja Academy at the top of his class after only one year, mastered the Sharingan at age 8, passed the Chūnin Exams at age 10, and became an ANBU Captain at age 13. According to Madara Uchiha, Itachi also had a lover, whom he killed during the Uchiha clan massacre.

He was praised highly by his father, who saw the family's future in Itachi, hence neglecting his other son - Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke. However, during this time Itachi showed great affection towards his little brother, Sasuke, and even encouraged his father to come to the Academy when Sasuke was enrolled, something their dad had otherwise forgotten, by saying that he would not go to an important mission that would establish Itachi a place in the ANBU ranks, otherwise.

When the Uchiha began planning to overthrow Konoha, Itachi, as an ANBU, was tasked with spying on the village. Knowing that a coup d'etat would only lead to another Ninja War, Itachi began spying on the Uchiha instead, passing on information to the Third Hokage and the other Konoha elders. After this he began to act strangely, not attending the clan meetings, speaking out against the clan, and becoming the prime suspect for the murder of his best friend, Shisui Uchiha. The clan lost hope in Itachi, and his father began shifting his focus to Sasuke instead. Meanwhile, the Third's attempts to negotiate a bloodless end to hostilities between the two parties were proving ineffective, so, against the Third's wishes, Danzō and the Konoha Council ordered Itachi to wipe out the Uchiha.

Before the fateful night arrived, Itachi discovered the existence of Madara Uchiha, who was attempting to rekindle the flames of war in Konoha. In return for not attacking Konoha, Itachi offered to help Madara claim vengeance against the Uchiha for turning their backs on him decades earlier. Madara agreed. Itachi slaughtered his entire clan overnight, sparing only Sasuke. Sasuke's life was worth more than the village to Itachi, and he could not follow through with the orders to kill him as well. Instead, he made himself out as a villain, who had killed their innocent family only to test his abilities. By doing so, he wanted Sasuke to take vengeance on him and become a hero to Konoha, thus redeeming the Uchiha name. He tortured Sasuke with his Mangekyō Sharingan, and encouraged him to become strong enough to kill him and avenge their family. Hoping that his beloved little brother would someday be powerful enough to kill him, Itachi left the village as a traitor.

Knowing that Konoha would still want to eliminate Sasuke, Itachi pleaded with the Third Hokage to keep Sasuke safe. He also threatened Danzō to not harm Sasuke or risk him revealing everything he knew about Konoha's secrets to enemy countries. Sasuke's safety was therefore secured, and Itachi returned to his original plan of becoming infamous for his slaughter of the Uchiha.

Itachi joined Akatsuki in order to keep an eye on the organization, along with Madara Uchiha, in case either ever acted against Konoha, all the while planning for his death at Sasuke's hands. While a member of Akatsuki, Itachi was approached by Orochimaru, who tried to steal his body to gain the Sharingan. Itachi trapped him in a genjutsu and severed his left hand as punishment, forcing Orochimaru to flee the organization. Sometime after joining Akatsuki, Itachi later helped recruit Deidara, Orochimaru's replacement, by beating him in battle, after which Deidara swore vengeance against Itachi.

Personality

Ever since his first appearance, Itachi had always been mysterious, and had acted as though he was hiding his true self. While flashbacks to his past showed that he was a compassionate brother and person, his later acts and claims made it seem that this was mostly just an act. But, surprisingly, he genuinely was the compassionate brother he had once claimed to be, although he hid this from the rest of the Akatsuki to protect Sasuke.

As a member of Akatsuki, he possessed incredible self-control of his emotions. He constantly displayed an emotionless personality. He only showed surprise when opponents proved more powerful or skilled than he had expected, and even then he didn't lose his composure. He did not possess any arrogance, and fully justified any statements he made about his power, even complimenting his opponents at times on their abilities.

In addition to being an extremely powerful ninja, Itachi had equally impressive intelligence, and was shown to be very wise. He was exceedingly sharp and observant to any situation at hand, as he was rarely surprised or caught off guard. He also displayed great intuition, as he was almost never deceived and even then almost instantly realized the truth. Despite his status as a wanted criminal, and having murdered a significant portion of his family, Itachi took no enjoyment in violence or combat, instead preferring to avoid battle or, if this was not possible, end it as quickly as he could.

Itachi's only initial interest was in Akatsuki's goals, and his only loyalties appeared to be to the organization and its members, seeming to put the organization's success and secrecy before everything else. As such, Itachi got along with his partner, Kisame, much better than most other Akatsuki members did with their own partners. Kisame appeared to have a deep loyalty to Itachi, immediately doing as he instructed and constantly looking out for his well-being. Itachi treated all of his fellow Akatsuki members to this same, more respectful personality, although his courtesy was rarely returned by the other members.

However, when he was in a genjutsu duel during his fight with Sasuke, he cruelly claimed he had only let Sasuke live so that he could take Sasuke's eyes and obtain his own Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, after which he then claimed the Uchiha clan had been nothing but tainted and evil, since many members would kill their friends to gain the Mangekyō Sharingan, and would take another Uchiha's eyes to make its power permanent. Once the genjutsu was released, he called it his true self, implying his calm, emotionless personality was also a facade. This persona was later revealed to be only an act to ensure that he would die by Sasuke's hands, his love for his younger brother being the fundamental aspect of his personality.

In the end, Itachi put all of his faith in Naruto, who he notes as the person most determined to save and protect Sasuke. After hearing Naruto's answer to keep protecting Sasuke and everyone in Konoha, Itachi gave him some of his power. He was very grateful towards Naruto's determination to save Sasuke, and was smiling after hearing Naruto's response. Itachi even trusted him enough to bring Sasuke back to the light.

Appearance

Despite his status as an infamous shinobi, his appearance was not the most intimidating, apart from the intensity of his eyes. While living in Konoha, he would regularly have a gentle and caring look in his eyes, especially directed towards his younger brother. After joining Akatsuki, he would regularly have a stern look to them. He was a fairly tall shinobi, whose basic appearance was very much like the rest of his clan.

He, like all members of his clan, possessed dark grey eyes, and also had black hair that hung near his cheeks to frame his face. He also had the addition of a long ponytail in the back of his hair (which he obscured with his Akatsuki cloak after joining the organization). Being brothers, Itachi and Sasuke had a similar appearance, but with subtle differences. Itachi's hair color appeared slightly duller and with a softer flow to it, without the spiky style at the back. His skin was also slightly darker. Itachi's most distinguishing characteristics were the long pronounced creases under his eyes.

When he lived in Konoha, his casual clothes would consist of a black shirt with a large Uchiha clan symbol on the back of it, and black pants with a weapons pouch strapped to them. When on duty, he would wear the traditional ANBU uniform, although he was never shown wearing a mask. As a member of Akatsuki, he wore the traditional Akatsuki cloak, and usually kept the center of it buttoned down. After his cloak was incinerated by Sasuke's Kirin during their fight in Part II, it was revealed that he still wore his casual clothes underneath it. Like almost all members of Akatsuki, he wore the headband of his home village, Konoha, with a line gouged through it, to symbolize his broken ties with the village (although, secretly, he was actually still loyal to his village). On his right ring finger is his Akatsuki ring, which bears the kanji for Vermilion (朱, shu).

Trivia

• Itachi (鼬) can be translated as "weasel".
• According to Pain, Itachi's reason for joining the Akatsuki was "ideology".
• Itachi ranked highly in the Shonen Jump popularity polls for the series, continuously placing in the top ten and reaching sixth place once.^[8][9]
• He and Kisame were the first active Akatsuki members to appear.
• Itachi and Kisame made a brief cameo appearance in the Konoha Sports Festival OVA, where they were standing in line to use the bathroom, along with many other random characters.
• According to the Third Naruto Databook:
  • Itachi's hobby was visiting traditional Japanese cafes.
  • Itachi's favorite foods were cabbage and onigiri with seaweed in it, while his least favorite was steak.
  • Itachi had completed 340 official missions in total: 53 D-rank, 152 C-rank, 134 B-rank, 0 A-rank, 1 S-rank.
  • Itachi's registration number was 012110.
  • Itachi's favorite word was "peace" (平和, heiwa).
• Itachi had always poked his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha in the forehead when they were younger, saying "Forgive me, Sasuke. Maybe some other time". This is referred to very poignantly with Itachi's last words, as he pokes his brother's forehead again and says, "Sorry, Sasuke; this is it."