Madara Uchiha (うちはマダラ, Uchiha Madara) also known as Tobi[1] (トビ) in Akatsuki, was formerly Zetsu's subordinate. Madara became a full Akatsuki member after Sasori's death and afterwards wore the same ring as Sasori having recovered it after his death and taking his place as Deidara's partner.[2] After Deidara's death, he revealed his real name and that he had been the one giving Pain orders, making him the true leader of Akatsuki. Only Konan, Pain, Zetsu, and Itachi Uchiha and recently Kisame (who recognized him as the Mizukage) knew his true identity. He is one of five people who can use the Mangekyo Sharingan, the other four being his younger brother Izuna Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake.
Eighty years ago, when shinobi were battling as individual clans, not as villages - among a countless number of them, two clans emerged as the strongest: the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan of the forest. Madara was born with a particularly strong amount of chakra, which he states due to his "stubborn refusal to die". His chakra was strong even for the Uchiha clan, who were known for having strong chakra. He was also the first to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan. He had a younger brother, who was equal to him in every way and who also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. Together they ruled over the Uchiha clan, with Madara taking the role as leader. But eventually Madara went blind, unaware of any side effects of the Mangekyo Sharingan at the time. He became increasingly desperate to regain his eyesight. He killed his brother and stole his eyes (although he claims that his brother willingly gave his eyes up to Madara for the sake of the Uchiha clan), so that he would have the strength to continue leading Uchiha. At some point in Madara's early life, by the decision of the entire Uchiha Clan except for him, he formed an alliance with the Senju Clan of the Forest, Hashirama Senju's clan, and together with its leader, the future First Hokage, Madara founded Konohagakure.
However, after Hashirama was chosen to be the First Hokage of Konoha, Madara feared that the Uchiha clan would lose supremacy and he sought the help of the Uchiha in his challenge for leadership. The Uchiha clan, however, refused, believing he was greedy, and called him a monster who stole his own brother's eyes just for his own desires. None of the Uchiha would help Madara, and he decided to leave the village. Feeling hurt, he came back and wanted revenge against Konohagakure which led to a legendary battle at the Valley of the End against Hashirama. During the battle, Madara used his Mangekyo Sharingan to take control of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and used it in a desperate attempt to kill the First Hokage. Madara, however, was ultimately defeated and was presumed by most to have died after the battle. Madara fled, and was never seen or heard of again out in the public for decades. To commemorate the battle, two statues, one of Madara and the other of the First Hokage, were carved into the earth around the waterfall. It is for this reason that Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha's fight at that location was noted to be ironic.
Madara created the criminal organization known as the Akatsuki to look over problems. He hid behind the shadows and placed Pain as the figure-head leader, with Madara giving Pain orders from the background. Outside of Pain, the only members who are shown knowing Madara's position as the true leader are Konan, Kisame, Zetsu and Itachi.
Madara Uchiha prior to becoming Tobi.Itachi Uchiha believes it was Madara himself that controlled the Demon Fox to attack Konoha, though Madara denies this, saying that the fox was a natural disaster. Nevertheless, when he came to destroy the entire village of Konohagakure in revenge, he met up with Itachi, who had already been assigned his mission to kill his clan. Itachi successfully talked Madara into only killing the Uchiha Clan as long as he left the rest of the village alone. Madara also taught Itachi about the Mangekyo Sharingan, helping him by teaching him how to unlock its true power. After Itachi killed off the Uchiha clan because of orders from the Leaf Village, Madara let Itachi into Akatsuki for unknown reasons. Itachi refers to Madara today as "a pathetic shell of his former self, no longer worthy of being called the greatest Uchiha."[3]
It has also been recently revealed that at some point after being presumably killed, Madara took the role of Mizukage.
Madara's "Eternal" Mangekyo Sharingan.Most of Madara's abilities are still unknown. He is known to have an advanced form of the Mangekyo Sharingan, and Kakashi speculates that his mastery of space-time ninjutsu surpasses that of even the Fourth Hokage's. Since the Uchiha clan is known for its fire techniques, it is also speculated that he knows advanced fire techniques as well. He was armed with a giant fan during the time of Konoha's founding, which may explain the origin of a paper fan being the symbol of the Uchiha clan. He and Deidara were able to defeat the Three Tails, but Madara (as Tobi) was never shown doing anything but running away from it. After the battle, which goes largely unwitnessed, he claims to have knocked it out with a single attack. Deidara disagrees with the assessment, claiming that it was his "artistic contribution" (exploding clay) that allowed them to win. While as Tobi, Madara is also shown planting Deidara's clay minefields underground during a later battle. Itachi refers to Madara as being an "invincible immortal", which is further evidenced by continued existence despite his advanced age and his surviving the battle at the Valley of the End despite witnesses seeing his death.
Madara shows the ability to recover from what are presumably debilitating or fatal blows. After being slashed across the midsection by Sasuke's sword, he collapses, only to stand up again a few seconds later and complain about the speed of the attack,[6] and later when Naruto hits him in the back with a Rasengan [7]. The attacks literally phase through him, avoiding damage. He is also seen being hit by Sasuke's Amaterasu but emerging unharmed.
Madara also shows the ability to travel long distances within relatively short timespans, escaping the final explosion created by Deidara and reappearing in Amegakure, then travelling to the Valley of the End all within a very short time span. It is speculated by Kakashi and Sakura that he uses space/time ninjutsu to instantly send himself or even parts of his body to different locations or some sort of void and instantly bring them back. This was noted in his fight with Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi, Yamato, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino when Naruto attacked with a full powered Rasengan that phased right through him, and also when he escaped Shino's bugs even though they were completely surrounding his body.
After he escaped Deidara's final explosion, it is revealed that he possesses the Sharingan, shown visible through the opening of his mask. The demon fox mentioned that Madara's chakra was sinister, more sinister than its own. Madara was the only person capable of taming the demon fox which was said to only come where human malice collects and festers, yet he was able to use the Sharingan to tame the tailed beast.
During Itachi's fight with Sasuke, it is revealed that Madara Uchiha and his younger brother were the first members of the Uchiha to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan, and used its power to take over the clan. After implanting his brother's eyes into his own body, Madara then awakened a new "eternal" Mangekyo Sharingan, a combination of his own and his brother's Mangekyo Sharingan which gave him untold amounts of power without the risk of losing his eyesight that comes with a normal Mangekyo Sharingan. It was with this power Madara was able to forcibly subdue the demon fox. Madara appears to have immense strength,as he was able to stop Suigetsu's giant sword with a single arm. Madara was once praised as the world's strongest shinobi during the founding of Konohagakure and was regarded as gifted even by the Uchiha clan, who were known for their high standards.
When the Sharingan is first activated by the user, it has one tomoe around a central pupil. The wielder of the Sharingan, through continued use, evolves the Sharingan which involves gaining tomoe. The maximum number of tomoe in a conventional Sharingan is three. When the user gets three tomoe, he becomes able to predict all movement from his opponent. The only level up from there is the Mangekyo Sharingan, which is said to be gained by killing someone close to them. Kakashi, however, seems to have developed the Mangekyo Sharingan on his own.
