Agony, blood loss, shattered organs, broken bones... The icy shadow of death, like the thickest darkness, swiftly engulfed Toneri's consciousness, threatening to drag him into eternal silence.
Yet just as his consciousness teetered on the brink of oblivion, voices began to echo and surface in his fractured mind-voices long buried by time, yet branded deep into his soul...
"My son," a deep voice said, as though reaching across the ages, carrying an unquestionable expectation. "You bear the mission of our Ōtsutsuki Clan! Purify the Shinobi World, reshape its order, protect the peace of the moon... This is the duty bestowed upon you by your bloodline, and your honor!"
It was his father's voice. The man who had loomed tall and stern in his childhood memories, always teaching him about his "mission."
"Though this child was born without eyes... perhaps this is an opportunity."
Another voice rang out, old and wise, carrying scrutiny and a trace of anticipation.
"Without the Byakugan, perhaps he can focus more fully on sensing the pure power of the Tenseigan in the Temple, unbound by 'sight.' Train him well. He may become 'eyes' unlike any our clan has ever known."
This was the Elder's voice. When Toneri had been deemed an aberration "born without eyes," this elder had been one of the few in the clan who had not given up on him completely, instead seeing another possibility.
"Toneri, how goes your... surveillance of the Shinobi World?"
His father's voice rang out again, this time questioning and assessing him. "Have you fulfilled the duty of oversight passed down through our clan for generations?"
"My son," his father said again, though his tone seemed softer this time. "Now that you have grown... can you carry on our clan's bloodline?"
Finally came a voice so gentle it seemed