<p>While it is difficult to say whether Itachi later discovered Tobi was Obito, the light novels <em>Itachi's Story</em> make it clear that in the beginning he truly believed that Tobi was Uchiha Madara.</p>
<p>His reasoning, from pages 53-54:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Over the last three years, Itachi had wondered any number of times about the man's true identity. From what he could infer, Itachi had thought the man was perhaps a member of the Uchiha clan, but that changed to a certainty now.</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>When he thought about it like this, the possibilities naturally narrowed. <strong>The first was that a member of the Uchiha clan thought to have died in the Great War had survived, and become the man in the mask. It was a general rule that if a member of the Uchiha clan died in battle, their sharingan would be brought home by another ninja. So, the man couldn't have stolen it from a corpse. In which case, it made sense to assume that someone thought to have died was alive, and coming to the compound with his sharingan still in his possession.</strong></p>
<p>The second possibility was that the man in the mask was someone who had broken away from the Uchiha. This was less likely than the first option. Because since the founding of Konoha, only one man had ever broken away from the clan and left the village.</p>
<p><em>Uchiha Madara</em>...</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And Itachi does end up going down the path of accepting Uchiha Madara is alive, and concluding the masked man is him, due to the overwhelming chakra he sensed, and the fact that Madara's death was never confirmed. I have also noted in the text, a part where Itachi was actually going down the right path with his thinking, one which might have led him towards Obito. Due to this, it is possible Itachi figured it out later, given his time in the Akatsuki and proximity to Toby.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-25T20:11:39.317Z
2022-01-25T20:11:39.317Z
Shaymin Gratitude
<p>Itachi clearly knew that Obito was the true leader of the Akatsuki, and he also knew of and feared Obito's (Sharingan) abilities, hence placing his own Mangekyo Sharingan on Sasuke and setting it so that Amaterasu activated when in the vicinity of Obito's Sharingan. Additionally, Itachi also had knowledge of his grudge against Konohagakure, which is why he confronted Obito/Tobi/Madara before the Uchiha clan massacre. However, Itachi never clearly states his knowledge of Obito's true identity, and also, Obito states during his first encounter with Sasuke that Itachi clearly knew more than he let on. It is never stated if Itachi knows that Tobi is Obito, but he clearly knew a lot about Obito.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-12T07:07:43.177Z
this is what exactly is told in the manga and anime. And yes, I think that he knew about Obito's secret identity but didn't want to cause chaos by letting anyone know it.
ABcDexter
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-12T09:34:15.083Z
A simple question... How? How does Itachi know about Obito?
abhishah901
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-12T09:47:22.187Z
It is just a personal opinion. Itachi was smart enough to reason that Madara would not be still alive unless he has some eternal "youth jutsu". So he must have deduced that it wasn't Madara but someone else who is just using the name of Madara. Also, Madara had nothing against Uchiha clan, he had always wanted to make Uchiha more powerful. So Tobi was not Madara. Also, if Itachi could perform tsukuyomi on Tobi, he could have known Tobi's secret identity but he did not want any bad blood. He was saving his life for Sasuke...
All these are my views.
Please tell me what are your views on this :-)
ABcDexter
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-12T02:52:32.103Z
2015-08-12T02:52:32.103Z
HardlyFlaccid
<p>There is some evidence that Itachi at least knew that Obito was alive.
After Deidara and Sasuke fight, Kisame tells Itachi that Sasuke died and Itachi states that Sasuke is alive and that, like, he knew that is him and Sasuke weren't the only Uchihas left.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2016-03-25T03:18:19.413Z
2022-01-26T05:00:01.480Z
2022-01-26T05:00:01.480Z
cata
<p>Itachi definitely knew that Tobi was an Uchiha, but there is little evidence, if any, to say that he knew that Tobi was Obito. Why I think that Itachi would know that Tobi wasn't the real Madara was because the amount of chakra emanating from Tobi, when the real Madara was present on the battlefield everyone knew about his presence.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-25T05:51:20.320Z
2017-01-06T11:17:54.403Z
2017-01-06T11:17:54.403Z
paws
<p>Itachi is one of the smartest people in the anime. Itachi knew about Obito from Kakashi when they were in one team in ANBU - The story of the Kakashi's Sharingan. Itachi knew about the moment when Kakashi cut Deidara's hand. All of Akatsuki knew about this situation.</p>
<p>And if you think more about that, from the story of Kakashi about his Sharingan, Itachi is smart enough to know about Tobi's true identity. He will understand that, if Kakashi has the same time-space as Mangekyo Sharingan, like Obito, they have the same eyes, or just Obito is Tobi. Itachi isn't foolish. Itachi was thinking about that things. That's the reason for Amaterasu in Sasuke's eye, after Itachi's death.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-24T20:20:07.373Z
2022-01-26T04:59:59.667Z
2022-01-26T04:59:59.667Z
Johanes Stromberg
<p>Since Itachi Uchiha always said complete truth, is it possible that he himself knew the truth about Tobi being Obito and not Madara?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-02T00:03:13.480Z
I think he knew that he is an Uchiha but I'm not sure if he knew that he is **Obito**.
Mark
<naruto>
Is it possible that Itachi knew the truth about Tobi being Obito and not Madara?
# Is it possible that Itachi knew the truth about Tobi being Obito and not Madara?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-06-27
Since Itachi Uchiha always said complete truth, is it possible that he himself knew the truth about Tobi being Obito and not Madara?
**Tags:** naruto
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think he knew that he is an Uchiha but I'm not sure if he knew that he is **Obito**.  
---
## 5 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2022-01-25. Score: 1 | Accepted answer
While it is difficult to say whether Itachi later discovered Tobi was Obito, the light novels *Itachi's Story* make it clear that in the beginning he truly believed that Tobi was Uchiha Madara.

His reasoning, from pages 53-54:

> Over the last three years, Itachi had wondered any number of times about the man's true identity. From what he could infer, Itachi had thought the man was perhaps a member of the Uchiha clan, but that changed to a certainty now.
>
> [...]
>
> When he thought about it like this, the possibilities naturally narrowed. **The first was that a member of the Uchiha clan thought to have died in the Great War had survived, and become the man in the mask. It was a general rule that if a member of the Uchiha clan died in battle, their sharingan would be brought home by another ninja. So, the man couldn't have stolen it from a corpse. In which case, it made sense to assume that someone thought to have died was alive, and coming to the compound with his sharingan still in his possession.**
>
> The second possibility was that the man in the mask was someone who had broken away from the Uchiha. This was less likely than the first option. Because since the founding of Konoha, only one man had ever broken away from the clan and left the village.
>
> *Uchiha Madara*...

And Itachi does end up going down the path of accepting Uchiha Madara is alive, and concluding the masked man is him, due to the overwhelming chakra he sensed, and the fact that Madara's death was never confirmed. I have also noted in the text, a part where Itachi was actually going down the right path with his thinking, one which might have led him towards Obito. Due to this, it is possible Itachi figured it out later, given his time in the Akatsuki and proximity to Toby.
---
### Answer by username_3 on 2015-08-12. Score: 3
Itachi clearly knew that Obito was the true leader of the Akatsuki, and he also knew of and feared Obito's (Sharingan) abilities, hence placing his own Mangekyo Sharingan on Sasuke and setting it so that Amaterasu activated when in the vicinity of Obito's Sharingan. Additionally, Itachi also had knowledge of his grudge against Konohagakure, which is why he confronted Obito/Tobi/Madara before the Uchiha clan massacre. However, Itachi never clearly states his knowledge of Obito's true identity, and also, Obito states during his first encounter with Sasuke that Itachi clearly knew more than he let on. It is never stated if Itachi knows that Tobi is Obito, but he clearly knew a lot about Obito.
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2015-08-12): this is what exactly is told in the manga and anime. And yes, I think that he knew about Obito's secret identity but didn't want to cause chaos by letting anyone know it.  
> **username_4** (2015-08-12): A simple question... How? How does Itachi know about Obito?  
> **username_0** (2015-08-12): It is just a personal opinion. Itachi was smart enough to reason that Madara would not be still alive unless he has some eternal "youth jutsu". So he must have deduced that it wasn't Madara but someone else who is just using the name of Madara. Also, Madara had nothing against Uchiha clan, he had always wanted to make Uchiha more powerful. So Tobi was not Madara. Also, if Itachi could perform tsukuyomi on Tobi, he could have known Tobi's secret identity but he did not want any bad blood. He was saving his life for Sasuke...
All these are my views.
Please tell me what are your views on this :-)  
---
### Answer by username_5 on 2016-03-25. Score: 2
There is some evidence that Itachi at least knew that Obito was alive.
After Deidara and Sasuke fight, Kisame tells Itachi that Sasuke died and Itachi states that Sasuke is alive and that, like, he knew that is him and Sasuke weren't the only Uchihas left.
---
### Answer by username_6 on 2016-03-25. Score: 1
Itachi definitely knew that Tobi was an Uchiha, but there is little evidence, if any, to say that he knew that Tobi was Obito. Why I think that Itachi would know that Tobi wasn't the real Madara was because the amount of chakra emanating from Tobi, when the real Madara was present on the battlefield everyone knew about his presence.
---
### Answer by username_7 on 2018-12-24. Score: 1
Itachi is one of the smartest people in the anime. Itachi knew about Obito from Kakashi when they were in one team in ANBU - The story of the Kakashi's Sharingan. Itachi knew about the moment when Kakashi cut Deidara's hand. All of Akatsuki knew about this situation.

And if you think more about that, from the story of Kakashi about his Sharingan, Itachi is smart enough to know about Tobi's true identity. He will understand that, if Kakashi has the same time-space as Mangekyo Sharingan, like Obito, they have the same eyes, or just Obito is Tobi. Itachi isn't foolish. Itachi was thinking about that things. That's the reason for Amaterasu in Sasuke's eye, after Itachi's death.
---
