Quote Originally Posted by bbaucom
im not sure if its even been confirmed that tobi is the leader but so many people keep talking as if he is. You may be right bout some of it but it is all speculation right now. All we know for sure is that tobi has sharingan, and wears a mask w\ only one eye hole which makes his being obito possible but as others have pointed out that would be kinda lame to bring a charactor like that back into the story as a villain. the next few chapters im sure will help to settle alot of this speculation floating around
Obito could reappear as a villain for many non-lame reasons. He might have lost part of his memory (being nearly killed by a boulder which crushed half of his face could have caused amnesia). He also might have pledged a debt to whoever saved him. Or, he may have another reason for aligning himself to Akatsuki. There is a possibility that he is a spy working for another group - and their goal may be the destruction of Akatsuki, which would make him something of a secret hero.

As you say, it's all speculation. Let's see where Kishimoto-san takes this.