I do most humbly apologize if a similar thread has already been posted. The only threads I could find were not fully supported nor explained.
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and
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My theory is that Tobi is the Sage of the Six Path's first son.
Firstly, Tobi has incredible powers. He says he has EMS, you can walk right through him. He has the sharigan and the rinnegan, the former powerful enough to control tailed beasts. He was powerful enough that Minato assumed he was Madara, and when he did claim to be Madara, people took his word for it (except for how old he is and when the 'real' Madara came alive via edo tensei. He is an exceptional shinobi. However, since Madara was reawakened, Tobi cannot be Madara (unless he somehow split his soul). Tobi then has to be someone powerful. In chapter 462, it says that "The elder son was born with the sage's 'eyes'...and was gifted with powerful chakras and spiritual energy." Both the sharigan and rinnegan came from the elder son. It would then make sense that Tobi has both the sharigan and the rinnegan, possibly. When he fights Konan -
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- he had two sharigans. We know that when Tobi was first introduced he had a sharigan. And supposedly he 'gave' the rinnegan to Nagato, and then took it back (
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Then that raises the question of where did he get the rinnegan to begin with. The first record of the rinnegan was the Sage of the Sixth Paths. It was considered to be a myth. That's why Jiraya was so surprised when he saw that Nagato had it.
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But if Tobi gave Nagato the rinnegan, that means either he got it from someone who had the rinnegan before and we don't know about (unlikely option), Tobi was born with it, or the Sage himself. I believe Tobi (the elder son) was born with it, as he inherited his father's eyes. We have seen Tobi with one sharigan, two sharigans, and a sharigan and a rinnegan. Assuming that rinnegans are hard to come by, he would probably have to been born with at least one (or stole one from the Sage). Sharigans he does have in mass supply (
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If Tobi was not born with it, he is at least compatible with it. If he was not born with it, and he didn't get it from the Sage and since he gave it Nagato, then there must have been someone else with the Rinnegan.
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Tobi calls Nagato the "third of the sixth paths". If the Sage was the first, and Nagato was the third, who was the second? Either someone else, or Tobi, or the elder son, or Tobi/elder son.
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he states that he has uchiha and senju blood. Which implies that he IS a Sage of the Six Paths. But he never claims to be
the Sage of the Sixth Paths, just Madara with the powers of the Sage. A sage must have senju and uchiha powers. Note that he says that he collected some of senju power from the 1st Hokage when they fought. That would be true if Tobi was Madara. But seeing that Tobi is not Madara, where did he get senju power? It is possible that he picked it up after the fight, however.
Secondly, I think its safe to assume that he has some sort of immortality, or at least he has the ability to live a long time.
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, it could be a trick of the light, I'll accept that, but notice how he's half white and half dark. Who else do we know that is like that? Oh, right. Zetsu. So if Tobi is made out of similar material that could give reason to why he has lived so long, and how he can create another limb for himself after Konan blows him apart.
Thirdly, Tobi is bent on revenge. Or, more accurately, he is obsessed with the feudal struggle between senju and uchiha. He says multiple times how he will make Sasuke and Naruto fight each other or how it is fated that they do so. Madara was obsessed similarly, that is true. But so was the eldest son. I suppose all Uchihas are in some way or another, but nevertheless.
Lastly, chapter 395 is titled: "The Enigma That is Tobi". An enigma means "a person of puzzling or contradictory character." Take that how you will.