Only after Obito had safely withdrawn did Tobi release his grip on Sasuke's ankle.
Sasuke retrieved the Kusanagi Sword he had thrown using Magnet Release, ready to send Tobi to the West.
Yet as the blade descended, Tobi asked unhurriedly, "Would you mind if I asked you a question?"
Sasuke paused. Remembering how Tobi had risked his life to secure his companion's escape, he decided to grant his wish. "Go ahead! As long as I know the answer, I'll tell you!"
Drip, drop.
In the rain, Tobi's pitch-black eye sockets faced Sasuke as he asked quietly, "Do you mean that?"
Sasuke nodded.
Tobi said, "Well, um... could you tell me what it feels like to, to need to poop?"
"Huh?" Sasuke froze, eyeing Tobi's bizarre face suspiciously. Deep within those dark pupils, he saw nothing but an intense thirst for knowledge!
He was actually... serious.
Sasuke slowly lowered his sword. After a moment of focused thought, he said, "Sometimes it builds up without release; sometimes it threatens to burst forth. Its arrival brings distress, its departure brings relief. The cycle of grain, the primal source of life."
"..." After listening intently, Tobi sank into a long silence of contemplation.
Sasuke asked, "Can I do it now?"
Tobi said, "Thank you for clearing up the question that's troubled me for years. Go ahead."
Swish! Sasuke raised the Kusanagi Sword again!
Whoosh!
At that moment, the vortex of Blade Reversal appeared.
"Sasuke-kun, wait."
Sasuke lowered the Kusanagi Sword once more.
Accompanied by Kabuto, Orochimaru approached, his slit pupils studying Tobi with keen interest.
"Tobi, I never thought the day would come when I captured you alive."
"Tobi..."
That familiar name made Sasuke pause. He remembered that in his previous life, the White Zetsu had called Obito "Tobi."
*So it was actually the