saaaaaadpanda
Sannin of the Scrolls 📜
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The Reason Behind the Mask
The hottest topic since Tobi's introduction has been what's behind the mask. Instead, I'm going to ask why wear the mask in the first place? The straightforward answer is to conceal his identity, but I believe we can dig a little deeper than that.
First, let's examine a close analog of Tobi, another masked villain from the Avatar series, Amon:
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Upon revealing his identity, it became clear why he had hid it in the first place. Had he revealed himself as Noatak, brother to councilman Tarrlok, he would've been exposed as a water bender, which would have dissolved his anti bending support base, pun intended. Additionally his methods for removing benders' powers would have no longer been an intimidating mystery.
Understanding this analogue, we can come to the conclusion that:
1. Tobi does not want his enemies to know his identity.
2. Tobi does not want his allies to know his identity.
But why?
It seems to me that Tobi must be a known figure in the Naruto world. That's not to say he is necessarily someone known to the readers, but he could be a legendary figure known in the Narutoverse. For example, the Gold and Silver Bros and their abilities were known around the world prior to their introduction in the story. Either way, Tobi is indeed a figure known of by living characters, and certainly by all the past members of Akatsuki.
More importantly, it seems reasonable to assume that knowledge of Tobi's identity will put him at a disadvantage, perhaps revealing some weakness. Otherwise he has little reason to conceal himself, unless he's planning on returning to a normal life working at a ramen stand if things don't work out...
Or I could be wrong and Kishi could just be a huge troll.
Concise Summary:
- There must be a reason Tobi wears a mask
- He is known personally or via legend by living characters in the Naruto world (but not necessarily known by us, the readers).
- Knowledge of Tobi's Identity will put him at some sort of disadvantage.
If I am full of shit, please let me know.
Edit:
That's a good question. There's been a lot of speculation about that. Some people have suggested that Kisame may have been put under genjutsu or some other means of concealing his true identity; considering Kisame thought Tobi was Madara, when Tobi's clearly not Madara. Otherwise, why would he be an edo right now?
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