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Madara Uchiha (うちはマダラ, Uchiha Madara) was the legendary leader of the Uchiha clan. He founded Konohagakure alongside his childhood friend and rival, Hashirama Senju, intending to bring about an era of peace. When the two could not agree on how to achieve that peace, they fought for control of the village, a conflict that ended in Madara’s death. Madara, however, rewrote his death and went into hiding to work on his own plans. Unable to complete it in his natural life, he entrusted his knowledge and plans to Obito shortly before his actual death. Years later, Madara would be revived, only to see his plans foiled.
Background[]
Madara as a child.
Madara was born during the Warring States Period and was the eldest of Tajima Uchiha’s five children.[5] Madara and his siblings grew up on the battlefield waging constant war with the Uchiha’s rivals: the Senju. Three of his siblings died young, leaving Madara with only his younger brother, Izuna. Madara and Izuna became very close through their shared loss and constantly competed with each other to get stronger.[6] This, combined with his naturally strong chakra, enabled the young Madara to defeat adult Senju in battle and develop a reputation as a genius.[7]
During his infrequent downtime, Madara met a boy his own age named Hashirama. The two quickly developed a friendly rivalry, be it skipping stones or urinating in rivers. Like Madara, Hashirama was also a shinobi who had lost his brothers on the battlefield. Together they imagined a world where children like themselves would not need to fight.[8] As a precaution, Madara and Hashirama did not divulge their family names, but nevertheless discovered each other’s identities: Madara was an Uchiha, Hashirama was a Senju; it was their duty to kill each other, even if they were friends. Needing to choose between his family and his dreams of peace, Madara chose to end his friendship with Hashirama so he would have no reservations over killing him in the future, a resolve strong enough to awaken his Sharingan.[9]
Madara and Hashirama clash on the battlefield.
Over the following years Madara and Hashirama continued to meet in combat. Madara could never defeat Hashirama — even after acquiring a Mangekyō Sharingan — and Hashirama could never bring himself to kill someone he still considered a friend, resulting in a constant stalemate between the two that lasted decades. In time, both Madara and Hashirama became leaders of their respective clans, a position Hashirama tried to use to broker peace between them.[10] Although some Uchiha found the offer increasingly tempting, Madara refused due to Izuna’s death at the hands of Hashirama’s own brother, Tobirama Senju. Despite this, some Uchiha defected over to the Senju clan out of self-preservation. Madara then used Izuna’s eyes in order to gain “eternal” Mangekyō Sharingan and restore his deteriorating vision. With this new power, he waged one final assault against the Senju and was summarily defeated. Rather than kill Madara to end the era of war, Hashirama offered to kill himself if it would stop the fighting. Madara was moved by Hashirama's gesture and finally assented to peace.
Konohagakure is formed.
The Senju, Uchiha, and all their affiliated clans came together to found a village of peace, where children would never need to die in battle. Madara and Hashirama rekindled their childhood friendship, and Madara called the village Konohagakure, seeing it through leaves.[11] But Madara’s idea of peace differed from Hashirama’s: where Hashirama envisioned cooperation with the other newly-formed villages, Madara desired control so the peace could never be lost, evidenced by his attacking Iwagakure’s Mū and Ōnoki so that they would submit to Konoha’s authority.[12] When Hashirama was elected as Hokage, Konoha’s leader, Madara also became concerned for the Uchiha’s future, believing this to be but the first step in the Senju’s dominance.[13]
The Stone Monument created by Indra Ōtsutsuki had been in the Uchiha’s possession for generations and was brought with them when they settled in Konoha. Through careful study, Madara was able to decipher enough of it to learn of the history of shinobi: of the endless cycle of failed peace and the destiny of battle between Uchiha and Senju, but also a means of unity for the world.[14] With this knowledge, Madara decided Konoha was a failed experiment. He tried to convince his own clan and even Hashirama of the same conclusion, but none would hear him.[15] Madara chose to abandon the village, attacking Konoha on multiple occasions,[16] later returning with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox under his control to challenge Hashirama.[17] They fought to exhaustion, and from the carnage of their battle the Valley of the End was formed.[18] In the end, Madara was killed by Hashirama.[19]
An elderly Madara awakens the Rinnegan.
News of Madara’s death spread fast, and his corpse was secretly hidden to keep anyone from finding it and profiting from it. But Madara had planned ahead: he had scheduled an Izanagi to activate sometime after his death, changing reality to bring him back to life in exchange for his right eye’s vision. After being revived, he left a copy in place of his real body and went into hiding with a special trophy from his fight with Hashirama: a mouthful of Hashirama’s flesh that he transplanted into his wounds. It was not until decades later, towards the end of Madara’s natural life, that the cells had any effect, awakening the Rinnegan (in the process restoring his right eye). With the Rinnegan he was able to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which he used to cultivate and create a mindless living clone of Hashirama from which he created the White Zetsu Army.
Madara meeting Obito Uchiha.
Over the years, Madara had perfected his plans for peace in what he called the Eye of the Moon Plan. But as his years waned, Madara knew he could not complete his plans in the time he had left. So he transplanted his Rinnegan into a young Nagato without the boy’s knowing,[20] intending Nagato to someday use the eyes to restore Madara to life. If Nagato was to do this, however, Madara would need an agent to act on his behalf and guide Nagato towards this ultimate goal. Madara waited, connecting himself to Demonic Statue to keep him alive until someone could be found.[21] Madara spent this time keeping a close eye on Konoha to find a suitable pawn to take his place.
Madara before his death.
During the Third Shinobi World War, Madara found a badly injured Obito. Madara used Hashirama’s cells to replace Obito’s damaged extremities and placed a Forbidden Individual Curse Tag in Obito’s heart as a failsafe in case Obito ever turned against him. Until then, Madara began working towards corrupting Obito. He had Kirigakure kidnap the girl Obito loved, Rin Nohara, and seal the Three-Tails into her. He then manipulated events so that Rin would die at the hand of Obito’s friend, Kakashi Hatake, while Obito watched.[22] Driven to despair, Obito offered his services to Madara. Madara divulged to Obito the history of the Sage of the Six Paths and the Ten-Tails, the details of his Eye of the Moon Plan, and various techniques that Obito would need moving forward. As a final act, he left behind Black Zetsu — a manifestation of his will — to provide additional guidance to Obito in pursuit of this goal. With that, Madara disconnected from the Demonic Statue and, with his dying breath, entrusted Obito with his name: Madara Uchiha.[23]
Personality[]
The childhood dynamics between Madara and Hashirama.
Madara’s childhood was a product of the times he lived in: the constant fighting made him a perfectionist that would keep at something until he mastered it, and his triumphs on the battlefield made him very confident in his abilities and talent.[24] Whenever one of these personality traits was challenged, as they tended to be by Hashirama, Madara’s competitive streak would emerge. Madara did not mind Hashirama’s influence in this regard; he believed that the only way to survive in the shinobi world was to make allies with one’s enemies.[25] His exposure to Hashirama is credited for Madara not experiencing the Uchiha’s “Curse of Hatred” or at the very least, not being victimized by it as much as Izuna was and even though he claimed to have abandoned his friendship with Hashirama, Madara still held onto their friendship subconsciously.[26] Madara’s actions and beliefs were singularly focused on protecting Izuna, his only surviving brother.[27] So long as he had Izuna, Madara was reasonable and kind, willing to make concessions for a perceived greater good.[28]
Madara’s descent into darkness.
Madara changed after Izuna’s death, becoming bitter towards the Senju, particularly Hashirama since he still had a brother. Embracing his clan’s Curse of Hatred, he opted to die for revenge rather than compromise or forgive.[29]Although he was briefly convinced to set aside his grief and try to replace Izuna with the collective family of Konoha, he could never shake the feeling that he was betraying Izuna’s memory. The increasing isolation of himself and other Uchiha from village politics ultimately convinced him of this, causing him to fully break with any other attachments.
During his time as a Konoha shinobi, Madara did what he thought was in the village’s best interests. Unlike Hashirama's compassionate methods, Madara took a merciless approach: the shinobi of Iwagakure only had a purpose so long as they swore unwavering allegiance to Konoha.[30] Since their methods were so different, Madara hated to hear Hashirama's name during diplomatic discussions.[31][32] After his defection from Konoha, Madara’s priorities became centered around the Eye of the Moon Plan, manipulating countless others in order to satisfy his own goals and putting in place multiple layers of contingencies so that nobody could ever diverge from his own intentions. Despite this, Madara genuinely believed this plan would in fact, benefit the world and simply followed an “ends justifies the means” principle.
As he valued only power and possessed so much of it, Madara therefore disliked to waste it on unworthy causes or unchallenging opponents, claiming disgust when he was forced to.[33]
Madara loved fighting above all else: the sights, the sounds, even the taste of his own blood, occasionally describing his battles as “dances”;[34] he felt being reincarnated deprived him of the full experience. Yet he was very disciplined in a fight, never allowing his failed plans or attacks to upset him, never letting superior numbers or power intimidate him, and always willing to do whatever must be done to gain victory. Although he sometimes imposed limitations on himself, such as not using certain techniques more than once, he was willing to “lower” himself with unbecoming tactics or excessive displays in order to change tactics and exploit advantages. He was perfectly aware of his talents and did not feign modesty, bluntly stating when he was stronger than his opponents and belittling them when they continued to defy him. Conversely, if he was proven wrong or somebody posed a legitimate challenge to him, he would admit it, and apologize for previous remarks if necessary. In addition, if such an opponent is about to die, he would show them the ultimate respect by taking the time and effort to finish them off himself, even if said person is going to die on their own.[35] Stemming from this, he feels insulted if he knows an opponent is not using their full power against him, even if he knows it will result in their death.[36] He also held the Senju to a higher standard in terms of power due to his encounters with Hashirama, stating a weak Senju disgusts him more than a weak shinobi of any kind.
Madara’s reaction after sensing Hashirama’s chakra.
One of the exceptions Madara makes was Hashirama. Their years of rivalry left Madara with competing feelings of respect and resentment for Hashirama. Madara considered Hashirama the only opponent worthy of his time and would postpone his own plans if it meant prolonging his time to fight with Hashirama without issue.[37] Despite this, Madara is quite open-minded about recognizing other strong individuals besides Hashirama, as when he declares Might Guy as the strongest taijutsu user he has ever faced.[38]
Despite his prowess and intellect, Madara is not without moments of recklessness. When he was brought back to life, he showed no hesitation in absorbing Hashirama’s senjutsu chakra while admitting he expected to have some difficulty controlling it due to having no prior training.
In the later years of his developing the Eye of the Moon Plan, Madara became pessimistic about human nature, believing the cycle of battle to be inescapable.[39] He also came to believe that humanity and the world are incapable of changing from what they were in the past.[40] He believed the current, “worthless” reality was built too much on the idea of winning and losing. For this reason, he was deeply committed to his plan, so much that he would prematurely end a fight he was enjoying or kill any threat, even, reluctantly, his own clansmen, for the sake of its success. Despite this, Madara was simply acting on what he believed would benefit humanity as a whole, showing his time in Konoha did indeed influence his actions and he wasn't acting simply out of bloodlust after Izuna’s death. His plan's ultimate failure deeply depressed Madara, but it made him see its errors: breaking free of his Curse of Hatred, he regretted the mistakes he had made and admitted the superiority of Hashirama’s methods for peace. He and Hashirama were thus able to reconcile their friendship in the moments just before his death.
For all his ruthless and manipulative nature, Hashirama stated that Madara was still a kind man at his core.
Appearance[]
Madara as a child.
Madara was a fair-skinned man with spiky, black hair that had a slight blue tint to it. In his childhood, his hair was chin-length that parted to frame the sides of his face. His casual attire consisted of a blue long-sleeve shirt and white pants. While on the battlefield he wore the standard Uchiha outfit: a black shirt with a high collar left slightly open and the clan’s crest on its back, with blue pants and bandages around his shins. Around his waist, he had a white sash that held a sack, presumably containing his ninja tools.[41] Later, his sash was replaced by a belt, adorned with pouches and various weapons. He also wore another sash strapped across his shoulders which he used to hold his swords.[42]
Madara’s appearance during the Warring States Period.
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Madara’s appearance after Konohagakure’s founding.
As an adult, Madara had let his hair grow to waist-length with shoulder-length bangs framing the sides of his face, covering most of his right eye. He has several scars throughout his body.[43][44] Although still relatively young, more prominent creases had developed under each of his eyes. At times, he wore crimson armor with numerous metal plates, forming protective guards along his chest, waist, shoulders, and thighs. Most of the time, however, he continued wearing the same basic Uchiha outfit: a blue high-collared, long-sleeve mantle that splits down the lower half and a simple, light-brown obi and a belt.[45] During the battle, he often carried an orange-brown gunbai which had a long black chain running up it. At one point, he wore a Konohagakure forehead protector.[46] The anime also shows him wearing a metal belt, as well as a brown leather sash to hold some of his other weapons, and a pair of belt sashes to hold two of his swords.
Madara as an old man.
In his old age, Madara became extremely worn and emaciated, with his hair turned thin and white, and lost all his teeth. He wore a simple black outfit and used his kama as a makeshift cane.[47][48] When Madara was reincarnated his body’s youth was restored, albeit with the generic effect of gaining grey sclerae and minor cracks all over his body. These disappear once he is properly revived.
Madara’s Sage Transformation.
After becoming the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki, Madara’s skin turned pale, his hair white (taupe in the Naruto: Color Edition), and he was enveloped by a cloak of chakra manifested into physical clothing: a full-bodied black garment with black pants, gloves, and boots, over which he wore a flowing white robe with six black magatama markings across his chest and the familiar pattern of a black Rinnegan and nine black magatama markings in rows of three on his back. Grey horn-like protrusions grew out of his left temple and overlapped his forehead akin to a protector with an upward curve on the right temple, giving him an overall appearance very similar to that of the Sage of the Six Paths. After absorbing the recreated Ten-Tails produced by Obito, Madara obtained additional black magatama markings around his sleeve cuffs and the rim of his robe. He reverts to his former appearance after the Ten-Tail gets removed from his body.[49]
Abilities[]
Madara’s power being compared to a god.
Chakra and Physical Prowess[]
Body Modifications[]
A replica of Hashirama’s face on Madara’s chest.
Ninjutsu[]
Bukijutsu[]
Madara displaying his chakra.
Madara and Hashirama fight using swords.
Nature Transformation[]
Madara using Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation.
Madara using Wind Release.
Madara using Wood Release.
Dōjutsu[]
Sharingan[]
Madara’s Sharingan.
Mangekyō Sharingan/Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan[]
Madara’s Mangekyō Sharingan.
Madara’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Madara’s Complete Body — Susanoo.
Rinnegan[]
Madara’s Rinnegan.
Jinchūriki Transformations[]
Madara’s final jinchūriki transformation.
Intelligence[]
Madara fakes his own death to acquire Hashirama’s DNA and awaken the Rinnegan without interference.
Part II[]
Fourth Shinobi World War (Arc)[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Fourth Shinobi World War (Arc)
Madara arrives on the battlefield with Mū.
Madara battles the Fourth Division.
Madara overwhelms the Five Kage.
Madara’s soul remains intact.
Madara reunites with Obito.
Madara refuses to fight Hashirama’s wood clone.
Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki
Madara fighting Hashirama.
Madara is properly revived.
Madara impales Sasuke.
A reformed Obito steals a portion of Madara’s tailed beast chakra.
Madara battling Guy.
Madara battling Naruto and Sasuke.
Madara activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Sasuke battles against Madara alongside Team 7.
Madara defeated by Sasuke and Naruto.
Legacy[]
After his second death, Madara’s greatest lasting influence was in Obito’s actions, who used Madara’s knowledge to create Akatsuki. Several years later, when Obito began operating under Madara’s name, the mere possibility that he was truly Madara was enough to unify the ninja of the Five Great Shinobi Countries and trigger the Fourth Shinobi World War.[50]
Madara’s actions during life, and even those subsequent actions of Obito, would end up having disastrous effects for the Uchiha clan. Following Madara’s betrayal of Konoha, the Uchiha were entirely isolated from any form of control over Konoha’s future, chiefly because of the actions of Tobirama Senju. His actions also played a role in Tobirama’s growth, who believed that to be Hokage, one must balance between Hashirama's compassion and Madara’s ruthlessness. At the time, some Uchiha members saw this as proof of what Madara always feared, but the fears subsided with time. Years later, when Obito causes the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s Attack, Konoha once again becomes suspicious of the Uchiha and the Uchiha once again feel wronged. This time, however, their discontent does not subside. When the Uchiha began planning to overthrow Konoha, the upper echelons of Konoha’s government ordered the Uchiha clan’s downfall.
One silver lining of Madara’s legacy is the name of Konohagakure, which he himself produced.
Trivia[]
- Madarao is the name of one of the Five Mountains of Northern Shinshu, the other’s being mount Iizuna, mount Kurohime, mount Togakushi, and mount Myoko.
- Madara’s (マダラ) name is written in katakana and means ‘pacific cod.’ Though, “Madara” (斑) can be translated as “spots” or “speckles” If written in Kanji.
- Studio Pierrot’s Settei sheets of Madara show that he was 143.5cm when he met Hashirama.
- According to the databook(s):
- Madara’s hobby was falconry.
- Madara’s favorite food was inarizushi, while his least favorite was roe.
- Madara wished to fight the upper class Konoha ninja.
- Madara’s favorite phrase was “Armor-sleeved single hit”, which refers to defeating someone with a single blow.
- Despite Madara being a user of the Six Paths Senjutsu and using various senjutsu techniques, he is not listed as a user of senjutsu in the fourth databook.[51]
- Despite Hashirama’s blood type being type B, and Madara’s blood type being type O, Madara was able to transplant Hashirama’s DNA onto himself despite type B not being able to give blood to type O due to incompatibility. This is the same case with Obito, whose blood type is also type O.
Quotes[]
- (To Ōnoki and Mū) “There is no alliance. From here on, you will obey Konoha! And never, ever say that shinobi’s name around me!”[52]
- (To Tsunade Senju) “You are just a weak woman… Weak people are ugly, and weak Senju are even more ugly.”[53]
- (To Hashirama) “While I walk towards my real dream, I’ll enjoy fighting you.”[54]
- (To Kurama) “Nine-Tails, you are merely a momentary life, a temporary existence of coalesced energy…energy that once was a single, ultimate form! An unstable force, lacking in intelligence or sapience, you require a guide to show you purpose. That guide is the Uchiha! The tailed beasts are but slaves to those with blessed eyes. Obey!”[55]
- (To Obito) “This world is full of things that don’t go as you wish. The longer you live the more you realise reality is just made of pain, suffering, and emptiness… Listen… In this world, whenever there is light, there are also shadows. As long as the concept of winners exist, there must also be losers. The selfish desire of wanting to maintain peace causes wars and hatred is born to protect love.”[56]
- (To Obito before dying for the second time) “Go…until the time…I revive…you are Madara Uchiha.”[57]
- (To Tobirama) “Hashirama’s country was a shameful contradiction… Man seeks peace, yet at the same time yearning for war… Those are the two realms belonging solely to man. Thinking of peace whilst spilling blood is something only humans can do. They’re two sides of the same coin. To protect something…another must be sacrificed. That is, other than that of, say a dream world.”[58]
- (To Obito) “I taught you that in order to control people, you need to use the darkness in their hearts. And if there's no darkness, then you just create it… […] From the bottom of your heart, you felt kindness and sympathy for others. […] Your deep feelings……for Rin……your comrades……the Hokage and the shinobi… All you needed to do was to fall once, and all that would turn around into deep hatred for the world.”[59]
- (To Naruto) “I just stopped the fate of this world. I freed people from pain, suffering, emptiness. […] Naruto… You’re getting in the way of everyone's happiness. Our game ends here. I turned hell into heaven. You should understand… It’s already over.”[60]
References[]
- ↑ Naruto Chapter 510, page 12
- ↑ Naruto Chapter 678, page 13
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 58-63
- ↑ Naruto Chapter 602, page 9
- ↑ Fourth Databook, page 57
- ↑ Naruto chapter 386, page 5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 398, page 18
- ↑ Naruto chapter 623, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 386, page 6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 386, page 10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 575, pages 8-11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, page 19
- ↑ Naruto chapter 646, pages 7-9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 626, page 2
- ↑ Fourth Databook, page 61
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, page 9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, pages 11-13
- ↑ Naruto chapter 626, page 14-16
- ↑ Naruto chapter 606, pages 13-14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 602, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 675, pages 7-10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 606
- ↑ Naruto chapter 621, page 18
- ↑ Naruto chapter 621, page 18
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624-625
- ↑ Naruto chapter 623, page 11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 661, pages 15-16
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, page 21
- ↑ Naruto chapter 562, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 562, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 628, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 592, pages 5-6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 659, pages 1-5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 672, pages 16-17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 667 page 10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 589, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 672, page 9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 646, page 11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 562, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 386, page 5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 398, page 17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 681, page 14
- ↑ Naruto Shippūden episode 462
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, pages 10-11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 562, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 601, pages 16-17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 602, page 9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 690
- ↑ Naruto chapter 490, pages 1-6
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 58-63
- ↑ Naruto chapter 562, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 576, page 16
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, page 18
- ↑ Naruto chapter 568, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 602, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 606, page 17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 661, page 12-13
- ↑ Naruto chapter 675, page 9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 678, page 13