It has finally come! The chapter we all have been waiting for, at long bloody last. Did anyone else think for a second that with the lack of dialogue, the scanlators had just not bothered to translate the manga, just to get the chapter out there ASAP? Looks like the chapter didn’t need much dialogue though, first time I’ve ever seen that done, that I can remember anyway.

So Tobi is Obito, confirming what we all suspected. The excitement doesn’t stop here though, oh no, quite the opposite. This opens up a whole new discussion, things have to be explained. First of all, how did Obito survive the incident we all remember from the Third Shinobi War in the Kakashi Gaiden arc. The impression you get is that his body, or his right side at least, was completely crushed by the weight of the boulders on top of him. In the last page of chapter 599, you can clearly see the right side of his face is badly scarred but somehow his eye is intact.

His name is Obito!

I can only offer wild speculation here but Yondaime, the Yellow Flash, was on the scene shortly after Obito was apparently killed, could he have had something to do with it? If not, the very fact that he was present on the scene would have made it difficult for anyone else (Madara, perhaps) to swoop in and save Obito. Maybe there is some sort of resurrection technique at play here, similar to the one Orochimaru used when attacking Konoha at the beginning of the series when he resurrected the 1st and 2nd Hokages. Perhaps there was some sort of underground lair that prevented Obito from being crushed? Too far fetched?

Ignoring the question about how he could have survived that incident, there is still the question of how he reached his current level. He is an Uchiha, yes, but judging from Kakashi Gaiden, he was much like Naruto in that he was the class clown and a bit of an idiot, displaying no real natural talent. Naruto rose to his current form through hard work and a hell of a lot of luck, not to mention he is the protagonist of the whole series – so he’s a special case. How did Obito do it? As Tobi, he’s obviously a very cunning individual, genius at times even. Was he tutored by an even greater individual?

Have any thoughts about this? If so, come over to our forums and discuss!

Related Links: Interesting Character Bios over at Narutopedia: Obito & Madara Uchiha; Naruto Chapter 598 Discussion; 599 Discussion on our forums;