The focus stays on the battle between Tobi and the three ninja of Konoha this week and I have to say, I’m liking Kishimoto’s decision to put multiple chapters in a row on one fight, rather than trying to change perspective every few chapters. Sure, this increases the likelihood that this battle is just a preview, rather than the actual final battle, and it’s likely that he can just shift back next chapter… but for now, it’s just nice having a coherent focus instead of splitting multiple routes.

And speaking of a coherent focus, there’s just no nonsense this chapter. I mean, in all of my history of reading manga, I don’t think I’ve quite had an issue with as little dialogue as this one. And well, it just emphasizes how serious this battle is, how powerful each of the ninja are fighting, and just how much is on the line… so much that none of them can really afford to mess around and even talk, other than to communicate plans of attack. Still, as expected, Tobi’s not going down without a fight and it sure looks like it’ll take something special to even hurt him in anyway. At the very least though, it seems like we’ll see the unveiling of the man behind the mask before the battle ends/the perspectives change again… because the crack in the mask’s just a tell tale sign of the good ol’ route many others mangaka/anime when getting ready to reveal their identities. At this point, it’s all been confirmed (EDIT: Apologies, mis-phrased it a bit.) it’s been floating around for a while that it may be Obito from way back when… but I do wonder. Just seems a bit too easily deducted, as it’s something I’ve heard floating around well over a hundred chapters ago.

Anyway, it’s nice to see Naruto’s showcasing his maturation as a ninja as well this chapter. Nothing like seeing him continuing to use his clones strategically compared to the days of old, and teaming up with Kakashi and Guy-Sensei to form such an amazing combination.

And speaking of maturation, if you haven’t heard already, it’s been said that Naruto will continue for around another year to year and a half… so well… seems like we’ll be seeing a lot more development before it’s all said and done. Hopefully, by then things’ sort out regarding what I’m gonna do in life! Haha. Anyway, guess that’s about it for this chapter. I’ll catch ya guys back next week!

Author’s Note: Got some time? Take a peek at my blog and my new article about the recent influx of mystery series.

65 Comments

    1. No wait, it does actually makes sense. I do remember Tobi doing tele-transportation with his Sharingan before too. So it is posible that he is Obito since his sharingan’s ability is way too similar to Kakashi’s. They both manipulate space-time.

      banzemanga
  1. Is it possible that the guy behind the mask is gonna be some guy we never saw coming and had no clue? They are making it so obvious that its gonna be Obito or one other person I bet its gonna be neither and we will be shocked as shit when we find out.

    Karmafan
    1. My money is on Izuna -Madara’s supposedly dead brother- who might not be that dead after all .. and who also has a habit of lending his eyes to other people and getting them back later (he probably got his eyes back from Madara after the first hokage defeated him).

      HunterWulf
    2. if is who ever… im pretty sure were not going to be surprised because everyone said its this person or that person so im pretty sure somebody got it right. Thats all I have to say. You conspiracy lunatics!

      paiser
    3. There is no chance Tobi is really Sasuke’s father or grandfather? I mean his parents were killed but with all the haxor abilities folks have (especially Sasuke’s bloodline) maybe it was a clone of some kind that died?

      Karmafan
  2. Naruto in Kyuubi Cloak mode. Kakashi with Magyenko Sharingan. Might Guy the supreme taijutsu master in the ninja world. These three made a crack on Tobi’s mask.

    Minato hit Tobi with a Rasengan… I salute you O Yellow Flash of Konoha!

    Random_Ram
  3. “At this point, it’s all been confirmed for a while that it’s probably Obito from way back when”

    No… NO! There is absolutely no coherent way for Tobi to be Obito! This tall-tale debate has been going on for so long, and at this point, the statement, “Tobi is Obito,” is more an act of trolling than it is a serious statement (unless you’re really ignorant on the manga). Zephyr, I don’t want to assume you’re trolling, and you’re definitely not ignorant on the manga, so if you could explain how on God’s earth you came to the conclusion that Tobi could feasibly be Obito, please do.

    DovahkiinGGGGG
    1. Lol well, I’m going on the basis of what a lot of people seem to be saying and the whole question of who else it could be that knows both Kakashi and Gai, as well as has an activate Sharingan.

      Though, as I’ve said up there, I’ve also expressed my own skepticism regardless… guess phrasing it “all by confirmed” was a bad choice of words from me. Lol. I’ll go change that.

  4. For the last time it’s been proven IMPOSSIBLE for it to Obito, here’s why.

    Kakashi was 13 when Obito gave him his eye, this all happened during the Third Shinobi World War. That part is canon, it’s mentioned in the Kakashi Gaiden Arc, its why they were fighting the other villages.

    Tobi and the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha shortly after the war. Kakashi and his generation were around 15 and were barred from the fight (chapter 503, Page 9).

    Now you mean to tell me that a kid who didn’t even have one tomoe Sharingan before he died managed to the short span of 2 years:

    A.) Master all the way up to 3 Tomoe Sharingan
    B.) Master a jutsu that defies Time and Space
    C.) Learn how to control the Kyuubi
    D.) Become strong enough to FIGHT THE FOURTH HOKAGE.

    IM
    POSS
    IBLE

    So unless Tobi is Obito from the future, it cannot be him.

    Tikal
    1. I also completely agree. Tobi is not Obito! What this chapter confirmed is that Tobi’s sharingan belongs to Obito. Tobi is probably a strong Uchiha that Madara clearly knows. The fact that they are sharing some sort of plan confirms it. Also for him to evolve Obito’s sharingan just like that proves that he is an exceptional Uchiha. Izuna probably comes into mind at first, but I think he is another form of Zetsu infused with cells of Madara himself. Remenber what he said when he was getting the rinnengan.

      SinTei
    2. But you forgot one important thing.

      Why must the Tobi who attacked Konoha be the same Tobi as now?
      You can’t rule out the possibility that Tobi saved Obito and then died after teaching him his techniques. Obito inherits Tobi’s name and mask.

      Obito’s Sharingan’s power have something to do with space, just like Kakashi.
      Also, if the above theory is correct then you’re point
      C.) Learn how to control the Kyuubi
      D.) Become strong enough to FIGHT THE FOURTH HOKAGE.
      is wrong because Tobi(before) and the Tobi (present) are 2 different persons.

      One thing is, you should wait for a definite confirmation before acting arrogant and telling people what is right or wrong.

      Relan
      1. It has nothing to do with arrogance and everything to do with the fact that if there is one thing Kishimoto is good at it’s laying out breadcrumbs and red herrings.

        There was enough clues that Tobi wasn’t Madara that when it was confirmed it made sense. Other than fans wanting it to be Obito there is no evidence that it is Obito.

        The fact that there would be two Tobi’s is dumb man, I’m sorry but it would just be stupid. Plus Kyuubi immediately recognized Tobi’s chakra, which even if powers were given, chakra stays the same. Unless ya know Tobi ate Obito like Kyubbi ate the brothers, then that’s not possible either.

        Then there’s the fact of where is his motivation? Obito gave his life to save his friends, he went out like a hero. Why would he come back as a man willing to kill thousands of ninja’s so he could basically control the world.

        Then there’s the problem of where would he have gotten all this knowledge from? If Obito is Tobi’s apprentice then who the hell was the original Tobi. That’s way to many loose threads for Naruto, Kishimoto may go spastastic during fights but his control over the plot is always pretty tight.

        As far as knowing Kakashi and Gai, anyone who has ever lived in Konoha knows them. Kakashi is the famous Copy Ninja, he’s in the Underground Bounty Book.

        Once upon a time I was on the Obito=Tobi thread but the longer the story goes, the less likely it seems.

        And if its Obito from the future I will quit Naruto. Zombie Resurrection is one thing, Ninja’s From the Future is another….

        Tikal
    3. Well look what naruto,sasuke and the others can do at 15-18. Most of these individuals are on par or surpassed jounin level.Naruto has recently mastered control of Kurama, Sage Arts, Rasegan and a bunch of stuff I can’t remember at the moment.Sasuke fought and disarmed the Raikage. He defeated Orochimaru, a legendary Sannin and disbursed the Nine Tails inside of Naruto at one point. So being young doesn’t matter at all in this world. Plus it doesn’t have to be Obito’s mind but rather someone in Obito’s body with someone else’s knowledge. Personally I think it’s Obito’s body or Obito himself who developed some grudge after surviving being crushed. The arm the fell off when he fought the 4th Hokage was the same arm that would have been crushed. The eye with the Rinnegan is the eye that once had Obito’s sharingan. Sasuke and Kakashi both underwent eye transplants to restore their vision. Whose to say Obito/Tobi didn’t do the same once that side of his face was repaired.

      k3
      1. You can’t compare Naruto’s gen to the previous, especially Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto has the strongest creature on the planet inside of him, along with being the son of two extremely powerful ninja. Then he was mentored by a man they wanted to be Hokage and he used his insane chakra pool to learn jutsu’s faster by a factor of almost 1000.

        Sasuke was taught by one of the strongest jounin in Konoha and a sharingan user with the same elemental type. Then he was given a super powerup by the king of forbidden jutsu, Orochimaru and given two S class sharigan abilities and Mangekyou by his brother.

        Most of Naruto’s gen have been handed the key’s to the palace. The previous gen like Minato had to work and sweat for their super jutsu’s

        So once agian Tobi being Obito is completely non-sensical. If obito did survive, who trained a weak kid with one eye into a badass in two years. Whoever THAT person is is far more likely to be Tobi with a stolen sharingan.

        Tikal
  5. But after seeing that everyone pretty much pulled out all their best moves, my prediction is that there’s going to an interruption or a new challenger appearing next chapter.
    I don’t think Tobi’s identity will be revealed until after the Naruto Movie (Road to Ninja) comes out on DVD/Blu-ray. That movie is just prolonging that plot point.

    random viewer
  6. Just read that Kishimoto wants to drag this a bit more. It’s fine by me(since the manga itself is entertaining) but this “secret identity” thing has been going on a while. Not a good thing, to be honest.

    I all want is: Naruto finding Sasuke and kicking his ass(if he starts a friendship speech at this point…). When that happens, I will be happy.

    leokiko
    1. It very well could happen that Naruto and Sasuke might not have a fight to the death, Naruto has worked so hard and struggled so hard to bring his friend home I will be surprised if he doesn’t do just that.

      Karmafan
      1. That possible scenario for Naruto’s ending (Naruto beating the crap out of Sasuke to the verge of death, then carrying him back to Konoha after he stomped some sense into him and reminded him of what their friendship meant to them back at the days of team 7), this whole scenario kinda reminds me of the ending of Trigun anime … ***Spoilers*** where we see Vash shooting his evil/misguided twin brother to unconsciousness then carrying his injured unconscious body on his shoulder and going back to the town where Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson where waiting for him ***end of spoiler***

        I’m kinda expecting a similar ending to Naruto, but i still think Kishi-san might surprise us with a twist or two XD

        HunterWulf
  7. What if Tobi is Shisui, and Shisui gave Itachi his last eye, but didn’t actually go kill himself and somehow got a new sharingan? Yeah that sounds like BS. No freakin idea.

    Pikow
  8. I think Tobi is product of science using uchiha and senju blood as a base implanting to someone most likely by Orochimaru or Madara.

    Kishi state that Naruto will continue another year and half so it will be end in 2013 or at beginning 2014.If anime end in 2014 and Naruto will have two more movie after road of ninja (asuming one year one movie) at the end of the serialization.

    Neo
  9. two seasoned shinobi and two jinchuuriki and they just cracked his mask while Minato schooled the man in two moves…got to hand it to Naruto’s dad, he really was too awesome for this manga xD

    gawrshness
  10. Tobi is not Obito! What this chapter confirmed is that Tobi’s sharingan belongs to Obito. Tobi is probably a strong Uchiha that Madara clearly knows. The fact that they are sharing some sort of plan confirms it. Also for him to evolve Obito’s sharingan just like that proves that he is an exceptional Uchiha. Izuna probably comes into mind at first, but I think he is another form of Zetsu infused with cells of Madara himself. Remenber what he said when he was getting the rinnengan.

    SinTei
  11. Hey, hey, it’s completely plausible for Tobi to be Obito. The eye he gave Kakashi sees the future and Kakashi’s mangekyo is a S/T jutsu like Tobi’s specialty warp. Tobi’s (Obito’s) other eye slows down time, and explains how Tobi seems old and wrinkly. He also knows Kakashi and Guy well enough to make deep comments about them. At this point, there’s simply no character that has been unveiled so far that could be a better candidate for Tobi’s identity than Obito.

    That, or it’s Naruto from the future. Derp.

    Kuro
    1. Tikal

      Reply | link Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0

      For the last time it’s been proven IMPOSSIBLE for it to Obito, here’s why.

      Kakashi was 13 when Obito gave him his eye, this all happened during the Third Shinobi World War. That part is canon, it’s mentioned in the Kakashi Gaiden Arc, its why they were fighting the other villages.

      Tobi and the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha shortly after the war. Kakashi and his generation were around 15 and were barred from the fight (chapter 503, Page 9).

      Now you mean to tell me that a kid who didn’t even have one tomoe Sharingan before he died managed to the short span of 2 years:

      A.) Master all the way up to 3 Tomoe Sharingan
      B.) Master a jutsu that defies Time and Space
      C.) Learn how to control the Kyuubi
      D.) Become strong enough to FIGHT THE FOURTH HOKAGE.

      IM
      POSS
      IBLE

      So unless Tobi is Obito from the future, it cannot be him.

      T_T
      1. that’s probably why he was there fighting the 4th but got stopped. He couldn’t do it at any other point in time because the hokages are pretty strong. So there was always a hokage there to stop him. Sadly it’s probably why he’s in the current era because as Madara stated the current line of Kages don’t compare at all to the old ones hence why the Ten Tails is on the verge of a resurrection now.

        k3
  12. Everything so far points out that this masked guy known as Tobi is in fact Izuna (Madara’s brother), he is as skilled as Madara, it was said that he got blind when Madara took his eyes and died while fighting blind, but i think he faked his death, took his eyes back from Madara’s dead body (after the first Hokage killed him) and then went on to wreck Konoha using the Nine Tails (until the fourth hokage stopped him) .. although i’m not sure how he would feel when he hears Madara has been already resurrected (and he reacted pretty nervous when Kabuto told him he might resurrect Madara).

    Let’s not forget that Tobi (or Izuna IMO) defended Madara’s actions when he took both eyes of his brother and said that Izuna gave them willingly for the sake of the Uchiha .. ask yourselves people .. how did Tobi know that Izuna gave his eyes willingly to Madara -and defended him- unless he is Izuna himself !!? .. for me that settles the case.

    Tobi ===========> Izuna (i.e Madara’s brother)

    HunterWulf
    1. The problem with that theory is that if Izuna did come back and take Madara’s eyes after he died, then he should’ve had a Rinnegan in both eyes right from the get-go (remember that Madara said it awakened shortly before he did die) and not mere normal 3-tomoe Sharingan, thus should never have had a need to take (just) one from Nagato’s corpse.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      1. Do you think that being able to absorb things into your sharingan is not a Mangekyo technique (also does that technique not seem similar to kakashi’s Mangekyo technique)?. Also what I am saying is that the Zetsu that we have been seeing has been a black one combined with a white one. We already know that the white zetsu can be create in mass numbers but for some reason black zetsus can’t. What I am trying to say is that Zetsu’s true form is not a white and black mix but a complet black one. Right now he is split in half. That is my theory.

        tasa
      2. He did, but like i said, it seems he is also fond of lending his eyes to others and then taking them back later, when he went to get his Rinnegan from Nagato’s dead body he said it already belonged to him .. yeah … those were teh very same eyes he took out of his brother’s body .. apparently Nagato wasn’t born with the Rinnegan but Tobi/Izuna implanted them in him at a young age (even before Nagato parent’s died), that would explain how Nagato (a simple kid) suddenly got the most powerful doujutsu out of the blue (Specially when resurrected Madara himself said that you must have the Sharingan and Senju cells to obtain the Rinnegan .. how the heck did young Nagato get those eyes then !!!? .. unless the eyes where already awakened by Madara, and after his death they got transplanted into Nagato by Tobi/Izuna).

        HunterWulf
    2. I don’t think that Tobi is Izune base on how Tobi can not use the techniques that Uchihas can use. He has never used amaterasu, Susasno or Tsukuyomi whenever he was in trouble (He did not cancel the amterasu on his arm, no Susanoo during the paper bombs trap or Tsukuyomi against the fourth hokage). He is more like a non Uchiha like kakashi who can use the sharingan to create a time space jutsu. My guess is that Tobi is the other half black of the black zetsu.

      Tasa
      1. 1.) Those techniques revolve around the Mangekyo Sharingan which we’ve never seen Tobi use.

        2.) We already saw Tobi and Zetsu together (whole Zetsu, not split) in the same scene several times, so I don’t think that’s very likely either.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
      2. He doesn’t use them because he doesn’t need to, his time-space manipulation jutsu is already an extremely powerful technique that had Kakashi, Gai and fully powered Naruto unable to even land a single effective hit on him, as for the examples you mentioned .. he already used Izanagi against Konan’s gazillion explosive papers trap (Uchiha technique) and with the fourth he already had Kyuubi under his full control (again something only Uchiha can do).

        Besides .. who said you can actually cancel Amaterasu flames even if you can use them .. didn’t Sasuke and Itachi use them during their fight .. it seemed to be a flame that once used can’t be put out by any normal means regardless of who cast them.

        HunterWulf
  13. Tobi is known by both Kakashi and Guy (at least we suppose from his words) but they don’t remember him.

    Tobi is definetly NOT Obito. But they have similar eye thecniques.

    One option is that Tobi is Obito’s FATHER.

    diaz
  14. I love how this chapter was just non-stop action.

    At this point I’m just fine with whoever Kishimoto pulls out as the identity of Tobi as long as he gives it a plausible explanation.

    ronri
  15. I am a bit shocked that, although having the Rinnegan, Tobi fails to use any techniques from the 6 paths. Otherwise he would have been able to absorb a lot of good charkra from Naruto or use his summonings to even out the playing field.

    The second thing I am wondering is if the Black Zetsu is going to do anything special.

    code fan
  16. Kakashi and Gai’s supporting attacks were hella awesome :D. In a way, I feel like Naruto’s techniques still pales when compared with the jounins. I mean sure he’s gotten really good with using his kagebunshin strategically, but most of the battles he’s won until now were all thanks to his overwhelming chakra and power. In my opinion, he still has a lot of room to improve.
    It’s been a while since the battles were this exciting. I can’t wait for more action. By the way, are Gai’s nunchaku new? Cause I don’t remember the ones he wielded before had any special designs on them.

    Yukie
    1. This is the fourth shinobi war, it would be reasonable for any Shinobi to make full use of his bank account to buy new weapons. After all, Guy can’t take the risk since his previous nun-chucks weren’t that affected against Kisame, and he needed to use one of his gated techniques to defeat some mere imitation.

      code fan
  17. *sarcasm* guys guys Tobi is obviously The first hokage him self…….. and he’s been plotting for peace this whole thus the reason for his shock in seeing his old buddy/rival madara when summoned with Edo Tensei. *sarcasm*

    Naske
  18. After some discussion i formulated the final thesis for why i’m convinced that Tobi is in fact Izuna (damn, this sounds too serious XD).

    -Izuna gave both his eyes for his brother, and Tobi seems to also have the habit of lending his eyes to others and taking them back after they serve their purpose (according to Tobi, he did this with Nagato when he gave him Madara’s Rinnegan and then took it back later when Nagato died and with Madara when he took his eyes back from him .. the same eyes he implanted in young Nagato).

    -The only one reported to have awakened Rinnegan (most powerful doujutsu) is Madara, so no way in hell a kid like Nagato could awaken it at that young age on his own when in fact the resurrected Madara himself said that you must have the Sharingan and Senju cells to obtain the Rinnegan, only explanation is that those eyes are the same as Madara’s eyes which Tobi/Izuna gave to Madara in the first place, Madara awakned their Rinnegan before his death then Tobi/Izuna took them back after Madara’s death and implanted them into young Nagato.

    -Tobi defended Izunas choice to give both his eyes to Madara and said that Izuna did so willingly (i.e Madara didn’t steal his eyes), why would Tobi even bother of care to defend Izuna’s actions .. unless he himself is Izuna, that’s the only reason he would .. and the only way he would know if Izuna did it willingly of forcefully.

    -After Madara took Izuna’s eyes he was left to live in complete darkness for some time, probably that affected his psyche badly, also his brother’s death on the hand of the first hokage and the Uchiha’s actions later on made him feel that his (and his brother’s) sacrifices where for nothing, that probably is the reason for the way Tobi/Izuna is acting and why he participated in the Uchiha massacre with Itachi and before that attacked Konoha using the Kyuubi to avenge his brother (as the first Hokage is the one who killed him).

    -Tobi acted nervously when Kabuto wanted to resurrect Madara, he wouldn’t have such reaction unless he knew Madara well, also the reason Tobi/Izuna would react this way is probably because he isn’t sure if his brother would approve of his plans or not, and not sure how he would react when he know his own brother massacred the whole Uchiha clan .. that’s why he was so nervous when Kabuto threatened to revive Madara.

    IMO all the evidence points out that Tobi is in fact Izuna (Madara’s brother), for me with this all the pieces fall right in place and everything fits together (and now i realized how silly was the Obito=Tobi theory .. IMO i believed it for a while, but upon examining the evidence that points Tobi=Izuna it became clear this is a much more logical and sound theory)

    HunterWulf
  19. You made a good point there HunterWulf, Izuna is also on my list of who Tobi is. There is no way in hell that I think it’s Obito though, because when the 4th Hokage fought Tobi, wasn’t kakashi and the others still young? Another person I think is Tobi (which I could be completely wrong) but I just have a really big gut feeling that he is Actually Uchiha Kagami, check him out in chp 481. He did fought In the First World War with the 2nd Hokage. And if you think about it, the 2nd hokage did know Space Time Ninjutsu. and when the nine tails attacked, check out chp 503, page 7, everyone was there EXCEPT Kagami. and During the Massacre that itachi has done, it was ASSUMED that he died before or after it. So I don’t know, what do you guys think?

    Dream~Master
    1. Ok, you make a very good point, although i’m still leaning towards Izuna (motivation, power level, … etc) there is one thing about Kagami that makes me believe he is also a very good candidate for being Tobi, his face, hair and his head band look way to similar to Tobi’s (when he partially removed his mask on several occasions) … compare those two pics .. the most striking similarity though is the hair .. same type/length of hair as Tobi.

      Kagami
      http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110512140255/naruto/images/thumb/7/73/Kagami-Uchiha.png/300px-Kagami-Uchiha.png

      Tobi
      http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6818351332_df95364a22_z.jpg

      Nice catch on the whole Kagami thing, now we have two reasonable candidates for being Tobi.

      HunterWulf

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