AwakenSublimity
Member
In my opinion, the man underneath the mask is still Madara. I was heavily doubting myself for some time, because I highly doubt that Kabuto could have revived this "other Madara" if he did not 100% die. However, in terms of plot, it's the only thing that seems to make sense. Madara is THE perfect ultimate villian, who is indirectly the cause of almost everything negative in the story so far.
He helped kill the Uchiha Clan, he set the Kyuubi on the Hidden Leaf, he controlled Akatsuki (which took part in countless evil acts), he is the reason the Kyuubi ended up being sealed in Naruto (Minato wouldn't have had to seal the fox in Naruto to protect the village), and the list goes on.
There's a difference between a well-forshadowed plot-twist and pulling something out of your ass. Sure, through some strange series of events, Obito COULD be Madara, but that would come from nowhere plot-wise. It'd be a twist, but a twist with no weight.
On top of this, it's subtly been hinted at that Tobi and Edo Madara can still be Madara. Mainly:
1. The constant references to Tobi being "a shell of his former self". A shell could be considered a body without a soul, or something like that. It's probably impossible to predict how until the manga gives more information, but I'm pretty sure this raises a valid point as far as the possiblity goes, as it's said by both Itachi and Tobi himself.
2. Nagato's Rinnegan was supposed to use the Gedo Jutsu on Tobi - he says that himself. As well, this Edo Madara thought he was summoned with the Gedo Jutsu. The two are related in this aspect. Madara's soul could be something he was trying to restore to become his fully-powered self again. Madara didn't have to be afraid of the coffin Kabuto summoned only for the reason, "Now people won't believe I'm Madara anymore." It could also be, "Damn it, now Kabuto has possession over my soul/body/whatever thing I needed, and it is 100% in his control, so my plans might not follow through as I'd hoped if he pulls some trick. Zetsu might play a role in Madara still being able to live as a "shell" (Zetsu makes me think shell for some reason), but yeah.
I'm thinking Madara just had a REALLY elaborate plan to pull things off that lead to this outcome, and he's not just some random ninja.
I'm still not sure that this is correct, obviously, because of the many times when Kabuto/Zetsu hinted that Tobi wasn't Madara, but I can't think of/haven't read of any other characters that could be Tobi that would make sense. At least based off of what is possible through canon facts that we know, and that would make sense in the context of a good plot. Because lets by serious, if by pulling a couple hundred strings, the main villian of the series ends up being Obito (a ninja we've seen once), that one guy from the 2nd Hokage's team, or some other random ninja we don't know much about or some new character, it'd be a bad plot twist, because it'd just scream "why". Why make the main villian, who is so suitably Madara, some random ninja we barely know anything about. That's just a bad plot twist. At least imo.
He helped kill the Uchiha Clan, he set the Kyuubi on the Hidden Leaf, he controlled Akatsuki (which took part in countless evil acts), he is the reason the Kyuubi ended up being sealed in Naruto (Minato wouldn't have had to seal the fox in Naruto to protect the village), and the list goes on.
There's a difference between a well-forshadowed plot-twist and pulling something out of your ass. Sure, through some strange series of events, Obito COULD be Madara, but that would come from nowhere plot-wise. It'd be a twist, but a twist with no weight.
On top of this, it's subtly been hinted at that Tobi and Edo Madara can still be Madara. Mainly:
1. The constant references to Tobi being "a shell of his former self". A shell could be considered a body without a soul, or something like that. It's probably impossible to predict how until the manga gives more information, but I'm pretty sure this raises a valid point as far as the possiblity goes, as it's said by both Itachi and Tobi himself.
2. Nagato's Rinnegan was supposed to use the Gedo Jutsu on Tobi - he says that himself. As well, this Edo Madara thought he was summoned with the Gedo Jutsu. The two are related in this aspect. Madara's soul could be something he was trying to restore to become his fully-powered self again. Madara didn't have to be afraid of the coffin Kabuto summoned only for the reason, "Now people won't believe I'm Madara anymore." It could also be, "Damn it, now Kabuto has possession over my soul/body/whatever thing I needed, and it is 100% in his control, so my plans might not follow through as I'd hoped if he pulls some trick. Zetsu might play a role in Madara still being able to live as a "shell" (Zetsu makes me think shell for some reason), but yeah.
I'm thinking Madara just had a REALLY elaborate plan to pull things off that lead to this outcome, and he's not just some random ninja.
I'm still not sure that this is correct, obviously, because of the many times when Kabuto/Zetsu hinted that Tobi wasn't Madara, but I can't think of/haven't read of any other characters that could be Tobi that would make sense. At least based off of what is possible through canon facts that we know, and that would make sense in the context of a good plot. Because lets by serious, if by pulling a couple hundred strings, the main villian of the series ends up being Obito (a ninja we've seen once), that one guy from the 2nd Hokage's team, or some other random ninja we don't know much about or some new character, it'd be a bad plot twist, because it'd just scream "why". Why make the main villian, who is so suitably Madara, some random ninja we barely know anything about. That's just a bad plot twist. At least imo.