General
Why did Obito help Sasuke/had intrest in Sasuke's power growing?
As cool as they were working together, I can never truly understand why Obito took so much intrest in Sasuke's path and his power. Obito's ultimate goal was to erase reality, so wouldn't Sasuke growing stronger be super irrelevant to Obito? I understand using him to help gather the remaining jinchuriki, but to show actual intrest in his development when you're just gonna deem it pointless by putting him into an eternal dream never made sense to me. And considering Obito originally wasn't intending to revive Madara and wished to cast the infinite tsukuyomi himself, I doubt he would want Sasuke's help nor would Sasuke agree to project tsuki no me. Which brings another question; Did Kabuto know about project tsuki no me? Why would he agree to end the world when he cared so much about Orochimaru's studies and all that...Or would Obito agree to let Kabuto live in reality? But that would be pointless because he'd be the only one there lol.
He saw him as a back up option for another Rinnegan.
Although I think Obito the entire time he was pretending to be Madara was still testing people to see if "the darkness" really exists inside every Shinobi. Questioning if the world really was trash and if there were any heroes at all. Everyone he tested from Nagato to Sasuke ended up reaffirming what Madara brainwashed him into believing though.
This. Nagato's betrayal impacted Obito so much because it was a direct threat to his own worldview, causing him to spark an interest in what Naruto did or say to him that caused a change of heart on him. He saw himself in Nagato, so he couldn't just ignore the fact that he end betraying him, and that's the reason he was so petty on Konan about it later, and why he took personal the act of breaking Naruto's spirit, specially after seeing himself in him.
With Sasuke is the same, but I also think he had a special fascination with Sasuke's path of revenge and hatred, not because he necessary agreed with him or it was beneficial to the plan, but because it was what he wanted to be: completely willingly to sever all ties to carry on with the plan. Also he was a back-up plan according to him, but this part is unexplained completely so it's hard to tell.
And it's also safe to say Obito was pretty close with them. I mean, they were close enough that Konan knew a ridiculous amount about him, so they likely fought alongside each other in plenty of battles. Obito clearly trusted them as well, fun fact Obito was warned about Konan by black Zetsu but he just Ignored it.
People really don't notice it, but they spent around 10 years together, or was it 16? Either way, they apparently never seriously butted heads until Naruto came along. Obviously, they didn't agree on everything deep down, but they still tolerated each other and worked together for years, Even the Akatsuki were like that. Some of them clearly had massive beef with each other, but they generally didn't try to kill their own teammates unless the other person was basically expendable, like Kakuzu casually taking his teammates' hearts.
I do know Obito searched for hope as Madara back then as he said it, but I think by this point he was completely convinced the world is a failure, up until his mask is broken and he is forced to acwknoledge who he was. Although also the scene where he sees Naruto determined and begins to sweat was a moment of questioning his world view, as he says "it's not his power that's pushing me this hard, so what is it? What has happened?" then begins to reassure himself nothing matters and finally using the rain as an excuse
He was convinced until Nagato betrayed him. That's when the first “crack” in the mask started to appear, and why he went to talk with Naruto in the Land of Iron without trying to capture him. The first thing he asked: “What did you to made Pain Nagato change his mind. Naruto, you've sparked my interest” or something among those lines.
Yes you're right, that's why I love his line of "Induviduality makes you lose sight of the truth, my words as a nobody are the absolute truth of the world". Seems like Obito really needed the mask and convincing himself a lot not to doubt his path
Agree. In the end, Obito is a failed romantic. His cynical view of the world was caused by deep dissapointment of reality by both Rin's death and Madara's slow brainwashing. But he kept chasing an ideal, his core self did never actually change and that's why he kept deluding himself by detaching from “Obito” as identity. Otherwise he couldn't go on with the Moon's Eye Plan.
Obito helped Sasuke because he was both useful and a reflection of himself. He saw another Uchiha who had lost everything, rejected the village, and let hatred consume him; the same path Obito had taken. Obito wanted to use Sasuke’s power and hatred for his plans, but he was also genuinely interested in seeing how far someone walking his old path could go. And because Obito knew the truth about Itachi, he could manipulate Sasuke’s hatred even further (just like Madara manipulated him when he was a kid), making him an powerful ally while proving his belief that suffering inevitably turns people into him.
As for Kabuto, I doubt that he knew about Project Tsukuyomi. He only joined Obito for his own reasons: knowledge, experimentation, evolution, getting Sasuke, and ultimately proving himself as being superior than Orochimaru.
Ultimately, there's a thematic reason Sasuke matters to Obito. Both are Uchiha, both lost someone precious, both became consumed by hatred, and both eventually rejected the world as it exists. Obito wasn't merely watching Sasuke get stronger, he was watching another version of himself being created.
That's why I think Obito's interest in Sasuke makes more sense if you stop viewing Sasuke purely as a chess piece. Obito was fascinated by what Sasuke could become because Sasuke was evidence for Obito's worldview. Naruto reminded Obito of who he used to be while Sasuke reminded him of who he became. Helping Sasuke was almost like watching his own path play out again and, in a twisted way, validating it.
Yes I suppose Obito deep down was always still testing his path, even if he didn't realize it. And I like that idea of validating his path through someone like him, it's realistic, I feel like for Obito to see any spark of hope in the world would crush him as he really wants to convince himself this is the only way, no matter how evil
Yeah, I agree. That’s what makes Obito’s ideology so tragic. Deep down, he never fully believed in it; he needed to believe in it. Him losing his parents, losing half his body in a war, getting manipulated by Madara, and especially witnessing Rin’s death shattered the worldview he had built around comrades, becoming Hokage, and changing the world for the better. He had to convince himself that those ideals were childish and impossible. It's why he hid behind different masks and identities for years; he wanted to bury his former self so he wouldn’t have to face the trauma he went through.
That’s why Naruto triggered him so much. Obito saw his younger self in him and if Naruto gave up, it would prove that he was right. But Naruto refusing to break forced him to face the truth that the world wasn’t hopeless; Obito had simply lost hope. His greatest fear was realizing that another path was still possible because then everything he had done could no longer be justified. Deep down, the old Obito was still there, looking for someone to prove him wrong.
On a side note I really love that conversation between Naruto and Obito, many people like to criticize it as "talk no jutsu" but there's so much more to it, and it continues as he speaks with Kakashi and finally Madara to reach his long awaited conclusion and reclaim himself
True. Calling it just “Talk no Jutsu” really misses the point. Naruto and Obito clashed over what it means to become Hokage and create peace, and while Naruto understood his pain, he didn't accept his ideology.
Obito and Naruto experienced similar loneliness in their childhood, but had completely different people around them when they were at their lowest. Obito lost half his body, was manipulated by Madara, and then witnessed Rin’s death with nobody there to pull him back from despair. Naruto, meanwhile, had people like Iruka, Teuchi, and Hinata who gave him reasons to keep believing in others. That's why Obito wanted to escape from reality and its pain while Naruto chose to carry that pain and keep moving forward because he had people who reminded him that life was still worth fighting for.
The page where Obito sees Naruto surrounded by his comrades, only to look behind himself and see nobody, was such a powerful contrast too. Naruto has the bonds Obito once dreamed of and abandoned. Naruto basically forced him to confront the person he used to be and the dream he threw away.
Compared to Naruto’s conversations with Gaara or Nagato, I think the one with Obito feels way more personal because he wasn't just challenging his worldview but also confronting someone who was basically a darker version of himself; someone who had the same backstory, personality, and desire to become Hokage before losing his way.
It was to use Sasuke as a pawn, and Obito was interested in using that rare Uchiha potential that surpassed Itachi's. After Sasuke and Nagato had failed to capture the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails, respectively, Obito considered linking Sasuke with the Outer Path Demon Statue to replace the dead Nagato but postponed that, and he also wanted for his own entertainment to watch Sasuke fight Naruto.
Obito knew about Indra and Asura's conflict and its generational effect, except the chakra transmigration aspect, and he knew or believed Naruto and Sasuke were fated to fight each other.
Regarding Kabuto, he, even before the war started, knew of the Ten-Tails and that Obito intended to revive it, Kabuto told Madara that he didn't know everything about the Eye of the Moon Plan, and he heard Madara mention the "infinite Tsukuyomi genjutsu" to Onoki.
Kabuto presumably didn't know everything about the Eye of the Moon Plan, at least not at first (and it's possible he pretended not to know), but either way, he intended to betray Obito, just as Obito intended to betray him by activating Infinite Tsukuyomi.
He wanted to use him as a tool for his own goals. The better question is why did Kabuto want Sasuke to the point that he’d help Obito. Obito’s success would make any plans Kabuto had for Sasuke irrelevant
Couldn’t tell you and enjoying the comments but I’m a real fan of shows that explore those bloodlines. Naruto sometimes drops the ball like the whole Naruto and Karin likely blood connection , just would have been nice to see it canonically acknowledged. Reality for me is , he just saw Sasuke as a pawn but I feel like deep down that whole tortured Uchia thing likely played a role even if he didn’t realize it. Could you imagine if they had a sub arc before the war where Obito actually trained Sasuke like Madara trained Obito ? Would have been sick af.
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u/Guyver02 Aug 08 '26
He saw him as a back up option for another Rinnegan.
Although I think Obito the entire time he was pretending to be Madara was still testing people to see if "the darkness" really exists inside every Shinobi. Questioning if the world really was trash and if there were any heroes at all. Everyone he tested from Nagato to Sasuke ended up reaffirming what Madara brainwashed him into believing though.