Naruto theory solves the biggest Obito mystery in the series' history

Obito of Naruto is one of the most controversial characters in the series. While one part of the fandom loves him for his sacrifices, the other side struggles with what he did for Rin, and the third side hates him for the evil that he drowned the Hidden Leaf Village in.

The most crucial part of his plan to revive Madara Uchiha was manipulating the Akatsuki and collecting the Tailed Beasts. This would catalyze Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan and manipulating the group's leader, Nagato, would give him the chance to revive the Uchiha Ghost.

For this purpose, he manipulated the Fourth Mizukage using genjutsu and made the Hidden Mist Village's reputation much worse than in the past. However, as it has already been showcased in the series, Obito's Sharingan's specialty was Kamui, not genjutsu. So, there could be a chance that he stole someone else's sharingan, someone who died during the Uchiha Massacre.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.

Naruto: Exploring the reason why Obito controlled the Hidden Mist Village using genjutsu

Obito as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Obito Uchiha was a member of one of the strongest clans of the Hidden Leaf Village and was raised by his grandmother. After entering the Ninja Academy, he became a part of Minato's team, with Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara as his teammates. As time passed, Obito developed feelings for Rin.

On a mission during the Third Great Ninja War, Rin was kidnapped and his teammates tried to save him. The rescue mission, where the Uchiha also awakened his Sharingan, eventually ended in him becoming part of the collateral damage. His last words for Kakashi were to protect Rin as he gave his undamaged Sharingan to Kakashi.

Obito waking up to an aged Madara (Image via Studio Pierrot)

After a while, Obito woke up in front of an aged Madara, asking what happened. Madara told him about everything, but he wasn't ready to give up on Rin and rushed towards his teammates. To his despair, the moment he reached his teammates, he saw Kakashi's hand stabbed inside Rin.

This was the moment both Kakashi and the Uchiha awakened their Mangekyou Sharingan. After witnessing the death of his loved one, Obito complied with every demand Madar made and was reborn as a fake Madara Uchiha. After becoming the fake Madara, he accompanied Itachi in his Uchiha Massacre plan.

Obito targeting Yagura to control the Hidden Mist Village (Image via Studio Pierrot)

He then joined the Akatsuki and took control over the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and the Hidden Mist Village to make the reputation of this village even worse than before. The village was infamous for its name, the Blood Mist, due to their brutal teaching methods.

This facilitated the Uchiha's plan to take over Akatsuki, which was born in this village. Eventually, the Fourth Great Ninja War also arrived and everything went according to his predictions.

However, the most confusing thing about this was how he put Yagura under a genjutsu, even though his Mangekyou Sharingan's ability was Kamui. He had the ability to transport others and himself into a different time-space at will.

A genjutsu illusion as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Yes, genjutsu can be used by all Uchiha members with a simple Sharingan. However, to control one of the strongest Jinchuriki for years with a genjutsu requires advanced skill, which can only be provided through a Mangekyou Sharingan. As the fake Madara didn't have a Mangekyou Sharingan that mastered genjutsu, unlike Itachi, he probably stole someone else's, but whose?

The fake Madara's reasons for joining the Uchiha Massacre are unknown but fans speculate that this could be because he wanted to take revenge against the village that couldn't protect his love. However, the real reason behind this could be a much darker and more obvious reason fans overlooked.

Fugaku's Mangekyou Sharingan (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Among the Uchiha clan members, there were only two people who could, or claimed, control the Nine-Tailed Beast using their genjutsu. The first was Madara, who showcased this during the fight with Hashirama, and the second was Fugaku Uchiha. Both had Mangekyou Sharingans that specialized in genjutsu.

It was strange that Itachi didn't steal his father's Sharingan before killing him, because it could have been useful in many ways. The reason behind this could be that the fake Madara had already stolen Fugaku's Sharingan before Itachi killed him, thus giving him the power to cast a strong genjutsu on Yagura. This also suits well how he was able to control the Nine-Tails during the Nine-Tail incident.

The confusing timelines of Naruto

The Uchiha Massacre in Naruto was showcased before Obito Uchiha took control over Yagura and the Hidden Mist Village in the anime, even though it wasn't specified as to which event took place before.

This is the main reason why such mysteries still exist in the series, even though it concluded years ago. So, take this theory with a big pinch of salt, as it revolves around speculating on an incident on which the author decided not to shed much light.

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Edited by Madhur Dave