Obito didn't go to war just for Rin, and Naruto fans need to understand the complexities of his actions

While the Naruto animanga-verse has some of the powerful plethora of villains, none of them has a more extensive narrative than Obito Uchiha. He was the main orchestrator of the Fourth Shinobi World War alongside the major antagonist of the series, Madara Uchiha.

However, many Naruto fans seem to have a recurring misconception that Obito instigated the war simply because of his childhood friend and love interest, Rin's death.

While that may be partially true and one of the contributing factors to his decision, the true reason might be something deeper, and many fans have seemingly missed the point.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinions and contains potential spoilers from the Naruto anime and manga.

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Obito's instigating the war in Naruto wasn't simply because of Rin's death

The Fourth Shinobi World War is the main event of the Naruto: Shippuden series, with hundreds of episodes and chapters leading to and building up to it. As the series progressed, it was revealed that the main instigator of the event was the former Leaf Shinobi and current member of the Akatsuki, hidden under the alias of Tobi, Obito Uchiha.

During his early days as a Leaf Shinobi, he teamed up with Rin and Kakashi under the guidance of the former Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. The series thoroughly reveals how Obito had a crush on Rin and was secretly in love with her.

During a mission with Kakashi, Obito had an accident and was crushed under a tree, presumably dead, by Kakashi and the others.

Meanwhile, Madara found Obito and took him under his care and guidance, while also filling him in on his ultimate dream and the concept of Tsukuyomi. To further his agenda, Madara made Obito witness Kakashi plunging his Chidori into Rin's heart and killing her, while hiding the context of the event.

This angered Obito and made him realize that Madara was right about the corruption of the Shinobi world.

While this was the main event that led to Obito joining Madara and ultimately instigating the war, some Naruto fans have seemed to hold the misconception that this was the main reason for Obito's revenge and going to war.

This was merely a catalyst that pushed Obito forward into supporting Madara's cause, but it was never the main reason, which Obito also clarified in the series' narrative.

After Rin's death, Obito was at his lowest and vulnerable, which created an opening for Madara to coerce Obito into following his cause and executing the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. Madara convinced Obito that in the new world they create, anyone who died for the cause can be revived, even Rin.

During his childhood, Rin was the one who always understood Obito and cared for him. For Obito, Rin was the symbol of all that is good in the Shinobi world.

After witnessing Rin's death, Obito deemed the Shinobi system that created a world of constant war and pain, a world where someone like Rin had to die, a complete failure, and sided with Madara in making a better and new world.

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Final thoughts

Obito is undoubtedly one of the most well-written antagonists of the Naruto series, with an extensive background that offers his character arc the perfect amount of depth.

While he was manipulated by Madara, and in the end sided with the protagonists, his entire arc of starting the war, with just an incident like Rin's death, provides a very intriguing angle to the story.

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