I Am No One

PLAYER

Name: Skeren
Journal Username: skeren
E-mail: mickeofas@gmail.com
AIM/PLURK: Aim: Horneddesire /Plurk: Skeren
Current Characters at Luceti: N/A


CHARACTER

Name: Obito Uchiha
Canon: Naruto
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Wing Color: Black with orange tips.

Canon Point: He's from chapter 628
Canon Point Explanation: This is presently the most recent chapter available in which he appears, but it is also a good point as from here he could truly go any direction given the foreshadowing we'd recently been presented in the chapters since his last appearance.
History: His Wiki entry. It does contain spoilers.

Personality:
Obito is someone who, over the course of his life, has done many terrible things. When he was young, he was optimistic and had the desire to do no more than help others to make the world a better place. At his core, this ideal never changed, though his approach turned from something lighthearted and soft to something terrible and twisted when he lost his way and fell to the legacy of hatred bestowed on him in his blood. It only took one event, one moment of pain as he watched the girl he loved die at the hands of the teammate who had promised to keep her safe, to send him sliding away from his bright future to the darker one that we all know, in which the path was only a means, and the end result was all that mattered. In some ways, the transition is an indication of just how fragile he really was at that stage of his life, and it brings to question exactly why.

Some of it could have been attributed to the fact that he'd never considered himself very intelligent, especially at that age, though efforts to fix that are very likely the root of his tactical brilliance later in life. He's taught himself to pause and think before speaking, in most cases, but there are those people who reveal his soft spots, and still others that prick his temper, no matter how hard he tries to keep himself under control as his teacher once told him he should. That does not mean that he doesn't make mistakes however, and at one point he volunteers information to Kakashi when he truly had no cause to do so, about Kakashi's eye no less, that garners a suspicious look from Sasuke and confusion from Kakashi himself.

On the other hand, mistakes of this nature are incredibly uncommon. When he actually cares about something, he can be amazing with how convincing he can be. He can make someone remember a phrase for the rest of their lives or almost shatter the resolve of someone who he sees as an enemy to overcome. It has become a mockery, in his later life, of what he had once used this skill for, but there are examples, over and over again, all throughout the manga, of just how this intense use of words is part of who he is. It's seen in instances such as Kakashi still using the phrase 'those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash' when teaching his own students, who in turn claimed the phrase for their own. Most recently though was Naruto, someone who was normally the one doing the swaying, almost falling to his logic during a pivotal point in battle as Obito pressed on him to shove him deeper into his grief. Both are examples of an eloquence that's mostly fueled by emotion, because when something matters to him, he is incredibly persuasive.

Unfortunately, how skilled he is when he does care just highlights how utterly terrible he is when he doesn't. Being Madara, for instance, was a charade he didn't have any love for, it being merely a means to an end, and it was, at times, notable that he was not the man he claimed to be. Lying, oddly enough, is not his strong suit. He does well, much of the time, with where he comes from it would be impossible not to learn, but he's infinitely better with what he sees as facts than he is at making up something whole cloth. He could repeat Madara's story, for instance, add relish and flare to the telling even, but it was obvious that making more of it than that wasn't something that mattered to him. This is only further evidenced in his talk with Naruto, when he glosses over talking about Izuna to immediately return to the topic of Sasuke, then again when he seems indecisive about what to call Hashirama when talking to Karin. These small inconsistencies in keeping to Madara's 'voice' when pretending to be the man showed that it wasn't typical to his nature to try to live the life of another, and that he wasn't as invested as he could have been.

That doesn't mean that he didn't use the reputation that came with the name Madara well, however. From the very first moment he set himself on the twisted path that would lead to his end goal, he worked to gather followers. It wasn't a steep progression, because a rapid acquisition of people he couldn't put faith in wasn't suited to his plans, but his choices were often careful, dependent on what they could add to his influence. In most cases. Kisame, while powerful, actually seems to have been someone he confided in to some extent, at least enough to show his face while acting as the Mizukage. Itachi, by contrast, he avoided at all costs, though he more than willingly kept his word to him, and in some ways helped the man reach his goals unimpeded even when they branched off sharply from his own.

At this point it might come as a surprise that in spite of the way he denies it to others, readily killing loved ones and quashing hope, his driving force is love. In some ways, his absolute devotion to his ideal world, to his illusion where everything would get better, is the ultimate show of love in the entire series. He wants a place where people won't be lost anymore even as he kills hundreds. He wants a place where no one will be left behind even as he works to snap the last threads to his past that still exist. He wants a world of peace even as he sweeps war over all of the Elemental Nations with methodical hands. He wants the return of a girl long lost even when she had never truly seen him. He's a contradiction, but his driving motivation is love, no matter what he says or does to the contrary.

His choice of persona reflects this attribute of his with a rather glaring sort of intensity, actually. Tobi, the fool, the idiot, and the person that everyone should trust because he's a 'good boy'. There was nothing forcing Obito to pick this guise, and he could have chosen any number of things to get the same results, but this particular face was the one that was very likely the easiest. He could have picked anything and it would have made no difference to his plans because he could have built up that persona from scratch, wrapping his plans around it and seeming as harmless or as dangerous as would have suited his purposes. Instead he chose the persona that was silly, fun, and approachable without truly considering one that people might have looked at with any degree of seriousness.

The reasons for this choice were many. At heart, Obito has a love for being the center of attention, for making sure that all eyes are on him when he can get away with it, but he could no longer risk doing this as himself. Tobi became that loving extension that let him continue to be who he wanted to be, even if he knew it couldn't last forever. He just wanted it to last long enough. He could be playful, silly, and even downright rude, and no one would come after him for it. It got him discounted by his enemies, and his allies, even those who should have known better, tended to try to protect him because they only saw the screen of incompetence he hid behind. The persona let him be led by the people he was leading, for a little while, and that in turn let him learn things about his followers that he might never have otherwise known.

Another reason he hid behind Tobi for so long was that being serious is, truthfully, not his strong suit. He can be, of course, but the longer he attempts it, the harder it becomes, letting sadness or anger creep into everything he happened to be doing at the time. It wasn't the best approach to a battle, and it was an even more dangerous approach to politics, leaving him to make up ground that he shouldn't have had to worry about damaging in the first place. His time running Mist is likely the result of one such situation, with him having effectively destroyed that country from the inside out. Mist, after all, was the source of the situation which changed his entire world view, and it's unlikely he forgave the country as a whole until he'd finished ruining them, only then leaving them to clean up the shattered pieces he left in his wake.

Thus is why it seems that Tobi became his sword and shield for many years, when Madara wasn't the name he felt it best to be known as. He could vent without destroying his own plans, turning to antics instead of ruin, and he could let himself do what he wished without any sort of reputation getting between him and his desires. He could be helpful, if he wished. He could joke and make others laugh, if he wished. He could be rude, or polite, or any manner of things he so wished, unlike while running under the dangerous reputation of Madara which called for only seriousness and focus.

He is the epitome of contradiction, of doing one thing while saying another, of wanting one thing while saying another, but calling him on it will get a person nowhere. Unfortunately.

Strengths

Physical/Powers:
His physical strengths are, admittedly, intense. Throughout the manga, you see him moving from one weapon to the next, and while he likely has none of them mastered, he's adept enough to be highly dangerous with any of the ones he's seen with though most of them were unconventional, such as a giant fan or a chain. He's also adept with throwing weapons and sealing techniques however, and is shown to be willing to use explosive tags on more than one occasion. That isn't to say that he has no skill at hand to hand, because it's clear he's had extensive training and practice in this as well given the results of fights you see him in. His true skills lie in other directions however, such as his genjutsu, an ability that allows him to cast strong illusions on people, one instance of which being when he took control of the Kyuubi and made him do as he wished. Ninjutsu is the other branch of his non-physical abilities, rounding him out with a vast array of fire techniques and a skill called Mokuton, which is the manipulation of plants through water and earth techniques. You never see him use Mokuton outside of battle, but it's highly effective when used, and he turns plant life against his enemies. Alongside the abilities he learned, are those that are more instinctive, which in his case is the ability to go intangible, which is something that is tightly intertwined with his sharingan. The other key ability he has is being able to travel through his pocket dimension, and send others (be they things or people) into said dimension at will, though this uses far more energy given the cost of learning it. He also has the ability to bring the dead back to life, due to an eye he stole, though this is one time use only, and he has no desire to pay the cost.

Outside of his abilities in combat, he's outright physically powerful as well, having been shown to catch a blade in a gloved hand, the gloves appeared to be cloth, without taking any injury, and when having had a jutsu used on him that usually carves a hole in the opponent, came away with only superficial injuries. In fact, at one point he actually loses his right arm, which had already been mostly replaced, and is later shown to have it back and in perfect working order. If nothing else, this illustrates his absurdly high levels of healing ability. This is likely largely due to his modified biology, which was spliced onto his natural frame, and also means that he can survive perfectly well without the need for food or drink. More in weaknesses.

Mental:
Much of Obito's mental strength springs from his end goal, and can often be traced back to his attempt to execute it. His focus is admirable, his eyes never leaving his end goal, and his patience is clear given that he's spent the last seventeen years on the same plan without once letting himself waver. His attention to detail has been, if not meticulous, then at least far beyond average, and he almost never forgets things that would in some way help him, be they good or bad. Also related to this is his generosity. It might not be obvious, but the fact that his goal is to cast his grand illusion over everyone, while horribly misguided, is still his attempt at bringing peace.

There are, however, things that he does that don't feed directly into his goals while being vital strengths. One of these is his flair for the dramatic, which in turn becomes a rather excellent sense for how to tell a story and make the person listening really believe him. Not to say the reverse isn't also true, as he's excellent at being a fool, playful and over the top, which easily lends to making people laugh or, when useful, underestimate him badly. Often this factors into his delicate sense of planning, which in turn leads to a skill at manipulation of others that you see repeatedly in the manga.

Emotional:
Sadly, while emotional, there isn't a great deal on the emotional scale that can be called a strength for Obito. It's true that he can often mask his emotions, to an extent, keeping them from being shown, but this is a minor skill at best.. Obito is a man that feels everything strongly, and in many ways, this is his greatest strength. His resolve, his determination, all of it springs from the lone point that when he loves, he loves with his entire being, no matter the consequences. It has pushed him forward throughout the series, and continues to be the only thing keeping him going, though even he doesn't seem to realize this.

Weaknesses

Physical/Powers:
In the strengths it was mentioned that he has the ability to bring the dead back to life. What wasn't mentioned was the reason for this being a one time use, which is that the one that uses it must give their own life in exchange. This is not the only ability of his with an intense drawback. Overuse of his sharingan eye in certain ways can leave him blinded in it, and the abilities themselves tend to drain him far more quickly than they should when he starts getting advanced.

His biggest physical failings, however, actually lie in his appearance. Due to how the other genetics were added to him, he has extensive scarring all over the right side of his face and upper body from shoulder to hip. It makes it harder for him to blend into crowds, and the distinctness of having one eye that's almost always red and one that's a silvery purple leaves him in the place of it being near impossible to be forgotten, which is something that is desperately helpful in his line of work. It also affects him on an emotional level, though this, at least, it's unlikely he'd ever admit.

Mental:
While in some ways focus can be a strength, it can also be a terrible failing. In Obito's case it has led him down a very dark road where he's lost sight of what matters, which in turn just feeds his ignorance of the possibilities he's losing as he refuses to look back and see what he might have failed to notice. In some ways, this makes him horribly gullible, with Madara leading him to the conclusions he wished him to make with barely a protest. True, it took something terrible, but his refusal to look at what might have happened means that he missed a truth that might have saved him grief.

He holds grudges for a very, very long time. For all that he repeatedly says that nothing matters, he still flies into a rage at Kakashi for saying Rin's name when the man was the one who killed her, and he ruined an entire country for being the cause of a death. Unfortunately, his skills with planning also seem to feed his cockiness. He believes that he cannot be defeated, will not be defeated, and thus it's a self feeding loop of less than admirable qualities.

Emotional:
As mentioned in the mental section, Obito is not only capable of flying into a rage, but is more than willing to do so if provoked. When he was younger, this temper would spur him to scream his opinions at the top of his lungs. Now, being older, he simply tries to kill the source of his upset. Thankfully it seems that his temper is harder to hit now that he's grown, but that's hardly a consolation if he's trying to stab you in the eye.

He's easily hurt. While physically he's powerful, his emotions are delicate, and wounds inflicted that way fester instead of heal. His temper is caused by this, in fact, as it's him attempting, in many cases, to retaliate for hurts he saw as being inflicted on him first. This also has the unhappy side effect of his trust being tenuous, meaning that the smallest of betrayals will never be forgotten, and he wouldn't want to look and see what could have led to them, because the pain of being betrayed is all that he is willing to notice.

This also means that he won't forgive himself for what he sees as his own failures, the betrayals he brought on himself, and he refuses to be happy until he accomplishes his goal. He has lost faith in everyone after all, and while overly dramatic about it, there is no denying that that lack of faith is being soundly inflicted on everyone else in his canon as he tries to get his point across. It's his self protection, and he won't let anyone take his denial from him, no matter how painful he finds it to hold onto.

Anything else?:
Due to the nature of his powers, I'm aware he's rather... over the top and measures are already being thought of to bring him down to a less broken level for play. He also intends to hide his identity as quickly as possible once he arrives, due to defaulting to caution in a setting where he doesn't know what's going on, so that should help on that point.

SAMPLES

First Person:
[The camera eye has been carefully covered up in case he failed to make the voice be all that worked this time. He still had a bit of trouble with the details of this communication system, but he felt that he had been silent more than long enough. He made sure that when he spoke, his voice was pitched a little higher than his natural tone, though nowhere near his former Tobi levels. No reason to throw away caution if someone might still recognize his voice, right? It being about four in the morning when he did this might help a rather large amount with that part though.]

Hello everyone! I know it's very early in the morning, and I have no reason to wake any of you, especially since I don't know most of you, but I was wondering what might be the best place to live? The forest has been very good to me, but I've been out here too long, and my clothes don't like it as much as the rest of me. Plus, it might maybe be a bit lonely.

I mean, the spirits are nice! I promise the spirits are very nice! But, well, they aren't much for talking, if you get what I mean? If someone tells me they want to be my friend then I promise I'll be very good to them! [His tone turned just a little singsong, and he amused himself with a little back and forth lean to get the excitement for the concept properly across in his voice.] I can do dishes, and clean, and I promise if I break anything on accident I'll do my absolutely totally best to fix it~! I'm really really good at fixing things I break on accident!

[He dropped his tone to an over excited version of a conspiratorial whisper.] I have lots and lots and lots of practice! But don't tell anyone, okay? Wait! Wait, pretend I didn't say that. None of you heard me say that because I'm not really clumsy! I'm just, um, uh, enthusiastic! Yes!

[He brought his tone back to normal volume, deciding to 'conveniently' forget to tell anyone who he was. He sincerely hoped that the book wouldn't give him away immediately, though from what he could tell there was no way it could do so.] But! But I would be happy to help! And clean and do all kinds of things if anyone needs me to! So. Um. I'll let you all go back to sleep now! Have a good morning! Or good night. Or. Uh... I'm just going to go ahead and stop now. Bye!

Third Person:
This was not the place his Kamui was supposed to take him. The thought was immediate, but understandable, given that he was surrounded by trees. Trees were not something that existed in his pocket dimension, and the fact that they were here, when he was attempting to go there was confusing on the highest level. That ability had never utterly failed him like this before. Then again, he and Kakashi had never used it on each other at the same time before.

Which just reminded him that, no matter what was currently going on, it had been a battle and he shouldn't be dropping his guard just because he was confused. The fact that he could sense no one near him, added to the disorientation of being not where he intended to be, had brought his guard down, but it was only a work of moments for him to roll to a crouch, sweep up his clothing, clothing he should have been wearing, and study the area.

All that said sweep told him that there was, in fact, more trees around him and not much else. It also told him that something was strange about his sense of balance, because he had nearly tipped backward when he'd come up, something he hadn't worried about in years, and that was simply... not cool. Inwardly dreading what he might see, especially given the universe had the tendency to tack random body parts to him that were not his, he turned his head, looking to try to get an idea of exactly what the softness he was feeling against his bare skin was originating from. He didn't believe it even when he saw it though.

Wings. He had wings. One hand reached back and pulled one of the limp appendages into view with a hard tug, which in turn sent a warning ache radiating through his body that made him be more gentle with it, and he just... stared. Black, orange, and attached to his body, that's what these were. There was no way that made sense. None. Nothing. Okay. Maybe not nothing, there were a couple options that could work here, but that didn't mean he liked them. Option A, he Kamui'ed himself into oblivion. That didn't explain the change of clothes or the wings. Option B, he'd been dragged into some sort of jutsu not of his own making. Again, this didn't explain the clothes or wings.

That just left option C. Somehow, some way, he'd managed to get himself picked up by someone again, though this time there was no sense as to how he'd had it happen. This time he wasn't squashed under a rock. This time he hadn't been alone. In fact, it made no sense at all, and that just made him wary. If he was here, were the people he was fighting here as well? Was Madara lurking around, just beyond his senses? Was Kakashi? Was the Uzumaki boy?

There was no way to tell, and he didn't trust that in the least.

So for now, no matter how hard the feeling of pressing dread was weighing on his mind that all his plans, his hopes, his dreams, had been utterly destroyed by something outside his control again, he had to prioritize. He made himself get dressed as he ignored the building chant of denial at the back of his mind. He made himself think about what he would do to make sure he didn't get attacked if his recent enemies were here as his chest started to ache with repressed tears. He forced himself to get moving to learn the lay of the land as tears escaped anyway, because there was no time for frustrated grief.

He didn't know he was safe. He didn't know that everything was ruined. He could feel it to the very core of him, but there were alternatives, options, and he could work with those. He just had to learn where he was, what the situation was, and if, somehow, perhaps he'd simply forgotten the start of his genjutsu. The idea didn't quell the screaming in his heart that told him that was not so, but he was willing to accept it because it smothered the sense of failure, and that, at least, was never a bad thing.

No other choice bore thinking about, really, so until proven otherwise, a flawed Moon's Eye it was. All the same, he wouldn't abandon caution, because one flaw spoke of many flaws, and he had to work out the mistakes, right?