A/N: Hello my fellow reader and welcome to another chapter of my wonderful story. Please enjoy and tell me your thoughts.

A Moment in Time

(1 day later)

(Underground Root Base)

The air circulating around the small room quarters was deathly quiet. The air was almost non-existent and the light was only but a few lit candles barely giving off enough light to illuminate the small room. Here though was our young protagonist who was still sleeping soundly recovering from the surgery that he had just a couple of hours ago. His recovery was still ongoing and as of yet he had not woken up from his intensive surgery. That is until now.

An extremely groggy Naruto slowly but surely willed his heavy figure to stand up. The bed groaned and squeaked as the weight on top shifted dramatically across the plain white mattress. There in the shadows sat a brand new Naruto. One with no emotions whatsoever and a brand new sharingan eye code-named project X placed on his right socket replacing the destroyed one from before.

He of course had no recollection of that since his memory was still a bit hazy as to what had exactly gone down the night of the surgery. He brought his heavy hands towards his face in hopes to remove the fogginess that had accumulated on his still accustoming eyes. At that moment he noticed that something was amiss. When he tried to rub his right eye he felt some resistance. He figured it was cloth that was covering his still healing eye. With precise hands he carefully pulled the unwanted bandages and silently gasped amazed at how incredible his vision was on his right side.

Everything around him was extremely crisp and clear. To the point that he could spot the very minute particles of the air around him. It was mesmerizing to say the least and he didn't comprehend why his right eye was so much better than his left.

That's when his memories began flooding into him as he remembered lying on a steel table overlooked by a woman. He recalled Danzo mentioning to the woman and himself about giving him the chance to have a sharingan of his own. Even though he knew what they looked like physically he never dreamed that this unique eye was capable of catching such details. He just assumed that all those Uchiha people just had them because well they were them and they had to.

With this new eye of his he felt that he could almost see into the future. It was incredible and laughable to think that way but that was the way he felt when seeing all the objects around him. Wanting to test his new vision even further his sights drifted towards the burning candle that was acutely placed on top of a small bedside table. Immediately his sharingan eye recoiled in pain. He assumed that his eye was still much too sensitive to take in bright lights.

One thing that was made clear to him was the odd sensation of not feeling the pain at all. Sure his eye reacted the way it did but he did not feel any pain or discomfort from the reaction at all. He was deeply confused as to why this was the case. Because after all it was only natural that you feel something from pain. He had felt it his entire life why was it different now of all times?

Wanting to confirm something he decided he would try a little test to see if his assumption was correct. He brought his hand towards his arm and gave a sharp pinch but as expected he felt no pain…not even a little bit. "Strange why is it I feel no pain when just days ago I suffered at the hands of that man and the pain was not diluted whatsoever".

His brief words went silent in the darkness while his eyes drifted towards the burning light once more but this time his new eye didn't react like before. This time he could see every particle that made up the burning light and it was mesmerizing to be able to witness such detail. His fully evolved sharingan eye reflected the burning light for a few moments before he decided he had seen enough and wanted to explore the small area he was currently in.

As his feet touched the ground he immediately fell down into the concrete floor below. The effects from the numbing were still lingering on his system making it difficult to control his motor functions properly. Not even flinching at hitting the hard concrete floor he slowly got himself upwards as his eyes took in the environment before him. "Guess Danzo-san put me in one of the recovery rooms". While his eyes roamed every square inch of the place they spotted a small bathroom which he quickly walked towards too.

Flicking the light switch on his eyes flinched momentarily at the sudden flash of light but quickly recovered. Walking a couple of steps forward he got himself in front of the large mirror and for the first time saw himself with his brand new eye. His hands unconsciously reached for the four-inch scar that went right through his eye. It was a painfully obvious reminder of what had transpired just a couple of days ago. Surprisingly he felt no hatred when recalled that memory. Not even the least bit of pain at all.

Putting those thoughts aside he went back to examining his sharingan eye in more detail. He was awed at how beautiful and mysterious it seemed. Three single tomoe rested around the unique eye. He had seen so many adults with this exact eye pattern when they patrolled the streets. Once again he couldn't express his excitement in the way he could before. He could tell you with words on how he was feeling but inside he didn't know how to make the exact expression for them. It was frightening but he couldn't express that either.

After a couple more minutes of inspection he finally had enough and exited the restroom flicking the light switch off. Having had enough of the tiny space, he made his way towards the only exited he could see. Grabbing the metal knob of the door he turned it full circle. With a click the wooden door groaned open and was presented with a deserted hallway which was lighted with a couple of torches hanging from the dirt walls.

He was presented with two paths. To his left he could see nothing and to his right was the same thing. While both ways presented nothing his mind told him to go right and that's exactly where he went having no other choice. As he walked the empty hallways he noticed he had passed several rooms. 'Guess I'm not the only one that is living down here'. Seeing nobody residing in them his eyes quickly disregarded them and continued onwards.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity the narrow hallways opened up and revealed a spacious open room. There was nothing special about this particular room but one thing he did notice was the many people who were glaring at him like he was an anomaly. He was never confronted with so many glares other than the villagers own of course. The only difference here than in the village, was that they kept their distance instead of retaliating.

He didn't mind being kept at a distance in fact he rather preferred it at this time. It was certainly better than getting beat up for no apparent reason. Having had enough of the glares from the faceless shinobi and kunochi he resumed his exploration and followed another corridor that was directly in front of him.

After going down the rather plain corridor he was presented once again with an open area. However, this time the people he had met the night before were there Danzo included. Without fear in his system he approached the man and introduced himself. "Danzo-san care to inform me of what will happen now".

The mysterious man heard the familiar voice and immediately knew who it belonged to. He was honestly surprised to see the young boy standing before him with no signs of wear. His single squinted eye drifted towards the new sharingan on the boy and noticed he was not struggling with it. 'He has accustomed to the new sharingan rather quickly. That is a good sign that this eye was meant for him rather than myself'. Danzo put a hand on the boy's shoulder and reassured him of his doubts. "Ah Naruto-kun it is good to see you are doing exceptionally well for just having had surgery last night. Your recovery speed is marvelous it must come from the Kyuubi inside of you".

Naruto merely nodded feeling no hatred for having the Kyuubi inside of him. Even though how and why it was sealed inside him. He didn't particularly care for the reason. Not yet at least. His mind now thought rationally instead of feeding from his emotions like before. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depends on how you interpret it. "Yes I assume that is the reason as well but that is not my concern right now. I want to know what the plans are for me going forward".

Danzo's small smile at seeing the boy handling his new eye so well quickly disappeared after hearing the boy be so formal and to the facts. 'Guess the process of sealing his emotions worked well. But now though I'm going to have to try even harder to determine his state of mind now that he can't express his feelings'. Grabbing his cane that was resting on the wall he nudged Naruto to follow him as the both exited the spacious room and once again entered a narrow corridor.

Minutes of silent walking passed until finally the long corridor seemed to be ending and revealed another open space but this time instead of candles illuminating it like the others it was real sunlight.

At first glance it seemed like any other room but at closer inspection he noticed the many holes and battle wear on the dirt ground. He came to the conclusion that this was a training ground. Without turning his head he asked. "Danzo-san am I to begin training here?

The war-hawk smiled at how quick the boy was. "You are correct in your assumption Naruto-kun. For the next year you are to train heavily in order to perfect and hone in on your particular skills. We need to figure out what you're good at and what you're not. This will also prepare you for the outside world and its many dangers". His keen yes drifted towards Naruto's sharingan gazing intensely at them. "I will prepare you as hard as I can to make you as efficient as a Uchiha when using your sharingan". 'I also need to discover what sort of special powers it has'.

The blond-headed boy took all that information like a sponge. He felt no anxiety for the coming days and also he felt no excitement. To him this was all business that needed to be done. He needed to get stronger but for what reason he did not yet know. Turning his head to his new master he implored. "When do I start my training Danzo-san?

Danzo heard the boy's question and went to answer it. "You will begin tomorrow morning so get some rest and do whatever you need to do to prepare". After informing him about his future plans he nudged the boy to follow him which he did.

(The next day)

(Makeshift Training Grounds)

On the training ground stood Naruto on the left side while on the right stood a generic Root member. Danzo was just up the railings with Izumi standing calmly to his side. He had invited her to witness the boy's first ever sparing. At first Izumi was perplexed as to why he was sending him so quickly to spar without even training him a bit. It wasn't like this was her first sparing session she had seen. Far from it, it was just that whenever she viewed the sparing sessions the opponents always had some kind of training from the man himself.

Danzo understood her concern since this was the first time he had sent someone he was going to train to spar without even showing him anything. His reason for doing this was simple he wanted to see how much he could do without any help. Danzo had chosen a highly qualified young boy to be Naruto's opponent. He fully expected for Naruto to be beaten to a pulp but he wanted to see how he would get out of it.

The sharingan wielding boy stood calmly feeling no sense of danger at his current situation. He knew that he would most likely lose the match but he felt no fear in that. He had forgotten to ask the man as to why he couldn't feel any emotion but it had slipped his mind. Maybe it was for the best that he couldn't feel anything. It definitely helped him here. He sensed many of the people he had seen glaring at him outside of the makeshift ring. Guess they want to see him fail or just want to access what makes him so special that Danzo himself is here.

Just on the other side of the field stood a masked boy who seemed to be about 14-15 range. His expression on the outside was calm since the mask covered up most of his face. On the inside however his emotions varied. He was feeling excitement for the upcoming battle but his greatest emotion was jealousy. He couldn't comprehend why this boy in front of him had gained his masters attention so readily. It wasn't fair to all the others who wanted to be trained only by their master. He knew for certain that he was going to win this spar. That was the only saving grace in this pathetic little match he had to take place in. He would show how much stronger he had become and how superior he was compared to this child.

Naruto's sharingan quickly picked up the swirling chakra around the young man ahead of him. Guess this was the signal that marked the beginning of the match and his assumption wasn't wrong. His eyes quickly moved to his right sensing impending danger. Even though his eye could see his movements clear as day his body was much too slow to react. A sharp kick to the side sent him flying back smashing hard into the wooden rail breaking it in half from the force.

The masked boy stood proudly seeing his handy work first-hand. His eyes traveled towards the upper rail to see if his master had seen his work. He frowned inside his mask seeing his master merely paying his attention to the downed boy. Slowly turning his eyes back to his opponent his frown grew deeper seeing no expression of pain on the boy. It was like he wasn't even fazed at all.

Naruto on the other hand was slowly picking himself up from the rubble. His light clothing were now dirty and mangled. Even though he seemed calm on the outside he was frustrated that he couldn't move fast enough to avoid the hit. Standing up he watched the boy in front of him prepare to attack him again. His eyes quickly moved from left to right in quick succession as he witnessed the boy move even faster than before. However, he could still see the boy clearly but once again he couldn't react fast enough and was hit with a fierce right hook sending him flying once again smashing into the wooden wall denting it significantly.

The masked boy saw Naruto hit the wall with such force. It made him smile feeling superior. He had trained for almost 4 years to become this strong and this wasn't even half of his power. He was just sticking to Taijutsu like Danzo had instructed. Even then he was still dominant and he was reveling at every hit. However, Naruto still kept getting up without even so much as a pained expression.

Danzo saw that the boy was getting beaten like he had predicted. So he went with his other plan to even out the playing field. "Naruto try to release the Kyuubi like you did that night".

Izumi looked at her master like he was talking crazy. "W-why are you telling him to do that Danzo-sama? I thought this was supposed to be a safe environment only meant for light sparring. If Naruto-san releases the Kyuubi who knows what might happen!

Danzo paid no heed to his frantic assistant and simply watched the scene before him.

Naruto was dusting himself and removing the random rubble that had attached to his clothing from the last impact. His head snapped to his new master and heard clearly what the man wanted him to do. The only question was could he actually pull it off. His memory was still hazy from that night and didn't remember specifically using the Kyuubi's powers at will. However, the proof was there in the form of dead bodies. So he knew he had tapped into the Kyuubi's power somehow. It was just a matter of time of getting the technique down.

The masked young man was still standing with no expression visible on his mask. Behind the mask however a bead of sweat slowly rolled down his cheek signaling his weariness. He knew that the boy had the damn fox inside of him. Hell everyone knew at this point but he didn't know what it was capable of when inside a boy. Not wanting to let Naruto gather any momentum he quickly jumped towards him with swift jumps and swung once again hoping to catch the boy in the face. That plan was shot as his hand was deftly caught by the boy's right arm.

Even though you couldn't tell Naruto was surprised that he had been able to catch his punch so easily. His surprise quickly faded away after seeing the tell-tell cloak of the Kyuubi's power coating his entire arm. From there it traveled onto the rest of his body until his entire form was covered in the malicious blood-red chakra of the Kyuubi. "So this is the Kyuubi's power. I can feel the energy swirling all around me it's incredible".

Danzo smirked when seeing his young protégé manage to pull out the Kyuubi's power and use it for his fight. Now all he had to do was give the order and see what exactly he was capable of now. "Naruto-kun use that power and kill him".

Izumi's eyes widened at his order but decided to keep her mouth shut knowing it would get her nowhere. Instead she simply watched wanting to know how this match would pan out.

The masked young man heard the order from his master and he was deeply confused. His head quickly snapped towards his master and pleaded for an answer for his betrayal. "Why are you doing this Danzo-sama? I-I thought I was the next in line to succeed you!

Danzo merely scoffed at the boy's ambitious plans. "Never did I say that was your future boy. But I am not a cruel man so I offer you this. Kill the boy in front of you and I'll personally train you like I would have done for the boy. You just need to win".

The masked young man kept his eyes directly on him for what seemed like an eternity. Hearing his offer he merely turned his head back towards his opponent and declared. "I am sorry for doing this but I need that position. You are nobody so you will lose nothing now fight or die!

The masked young man quickly released himself from his grip and back flipped out of his reach. He dangerously lowered his body until he released like a loaded spring towards the boy delivering a devastating kick to the boy's face. The kick never landed having been blocked by the boys forearm like it was nothing.

Naruto stood calmly watching the boy while he kept back his fierce kick. Both of his eyes were now blood-red but his left eye was slited like a fox. With the Kyuubi's power coating him inside and out he could now react fast enough and with his eye he could see almost three steps ahead of the boy. He needed to finish this quickly and end this little farce once and for all. "Danzo-san commanded for your death so that will be the outcome. It is inevitable so prepare to fight for your life".

The masked boy clenched his teeth hearing the monotone voice of the boy. It pissed him off how he sounded so confident that he would be the victor in this battle. He jumped back once again and began going through the motions of a jutsu. Just as he was about to release his move Naruto had appeared right in front of him and had his entire hand straight through where his heart was supposed to be. His eyes bulged to the point of almost popping out as he stared in disbelief followed by dropping to the ground dead in a pool of blood. The last thing he saw was Naruto's right eye with a weird symbol on it.

The entire place was deathly quiet still trying to piece what just happened before their very eyes. Naruto meanwhile was merely wiping away the blood from his hand as his head snapped towards Danzo. "Danzo-san I have done what you have ordered me. What's next for today?

Izumi looked around her seeing shocked faces until she finally looked at her master besides. His face was very different from the others. His was filled with nothing but excitement. Only she knew why this was. It meant that the eye that he had worked so hard to perfect was bearing fruit before their very eyes.

(2 months later)

About two whole months had passed since that incident in the training grounds. Now here we were again in the same place as before. This time though the small section where fellow root members could see was empty. And in the middle of the field stood Danzo and his protégé Naruto.

The both of them had trained intensively for the past two months. Danzo had taught Naruto how to properly use his sharingan almost to the point where he could be considered one of the best if not the best with it. Well he was far from Itachi's level so he still had a ways to go but for the most part he was doing exceptionally well. He had taught him also how to fight properly. His Taijutsu was extremely good for someone of his age. He was only 10 and he had the strength of a top-tier Chunin. As a result his speed had increased dramatically like it should if he wanted to perfect his usage with his new eye.

His Ninjutsu was abysmal though since he had yet to teach him anything about it. He believed that he needed to hone in on his hand to hand combat first before jumping onto the rest. His Genjutsu was also non-existent as he had yet to teach him anything about it. All in all Naruto was a damn good student and with time he would become incredibly strong for someone his age. However, one thing he did have an advantage in was his sharingan's special ability. Codenamed Project X was capable of stopping time for a moment giving the wielder the ability to get close and deliver the killing blow without the person even knowing that he was dead.

Naruto had done this many times over the course of his two month training session. His first time however happened on his first sparing match. He didn't know he used it at first but after he explained to him that his opponent just stopped moving he knew what had happened.

His inspiration for creating the eye came when he witnessed youngsters having extraordinary powers that even trumped the ones of shinobi. They displayed varied powers that ranged from creating ice from thin air to creating lightning like nothing. Keep in mind that he did not see any kind of chakra in their bodies fueling the power they were displaying. It was a long time ago and he had yet to see their kind again but he knew they were out there and it was only a matter of time before they made their appearance again.

During his travels he also witnessed a clan of people who were migrating to from another land. They displayed extreme talent in the arts of Taijutsu. They were not to be trifled with and he could honestly say they far surpassed the best of their own village Maito Guy. With their extreme talent with Taijutsu came along with their superior arts in Kenjutsu. Their swordsmanship was terrifying to witness but at the same time mesmerizing. But like before he had yet to see them again.

Coming out of his daydream the bandaged man rested his eyes on his protégé in front of him. Naruto now wore what would be standard for a Konoha Anbu. It consisted of entirely black clothing, a black flak jacket with red straps over the shoulders signaling his allegiance to Root, metal arm guards and gloves with standard shinobi sandals. Also instead of carrying a tip-less Tanto like the rest of his brethren he had decided to go with what the Anbu would carry. That would be a straight sword that was a few inches shorter than the normal blade. The only thing he was missing was his mask which he had yet to earn. All in all he looked intimidating and would draw a lot of attention if seen out in the open. Especially with his bright blond hair and his sharingan eye but that could be covered up easily.

Now it was time for the next step in his training. He needed to find out what sort of affinity he had so he could work on it for the next few months. Taking out a small piece of what seemed to be plain paper he handed it out to the boy which he readily took in his hand. "Channel chakra into the paper Naruto-kun. This will tell you what your affinity is so we could work on it". Raising five fingers he explained. "There are five elements in total and this small paper will tell you how many you have and what you specialize in. If it splits in half then you're Wind, if it burns your Fire, if it crumples up then your Lightning, if it turns to dirt then your earth, if it gets soggy then your water. So go ahead and channel your chakra so we can find out".

Naruto nodded in understanding after hearing his detailed explanation. He focused on the paper and channeled his chakra like he was told. The results were instant. The paper quickly split in half and busted into flames leaving only ashes. Gazing at the now decimated paper he spoke. "This say's I'm both Wind and Fire. Is that even possible Sensei?

Danzo was still gawking at the ashes amazed that the boy had to completely opposite affinities. Just having a Wind affinity was rare but also having a Fire one to go alongside it was astonishing. 'It seems like that sharingan has given him an affinity to Fire. Strange it did so since I did not receive the same compliments'. "It is very rare Naruto-kun but as you can see it is very possible. Now then since I specialize in Wind Jutsu I will begin to teach you that first. Let us begin shall we".

(6 months later)

For the past 6 months Naruto had been strictly training in perfecting his Ninjutsu. He now had a varied amount of techniques under his belt for both of his affinities. It was not that hard to pick up quite honestly it was just a matter of trial and error. So many had simply exploded on his face but he would just brush it off and continue with it. In between his Ninjutsu lessons he would also train with his sword that he carried around with him everywhere he went.

Which wasn't far since he wasn't allowed to leave the base just yet. Fortunately for him there was a Root member who knew the basics of handling a longer sword since all of them went with the Tanto. Still though he learned what he could and had perfected the basics. All he needed now was to come up with his own technique and he was golden.

His Genjutsu had been put on the back burner since most of the Root members didn't know much about it. They didn't have a sharingan which made it even harder. Luckily he found several books in the large library that helped him with the basics as well. He had managed to persuade some of the members to be his test subjects for his Genjutsu. This helped him figure out what worked and what did not.

During these short 8 months since he had arrived here he had learned so much. He had become stronger than he would have if he stayed topside. He had killed so many of his brethren in sparing matches that he had become numb to it. He had learned how the world worked and how to play the game. He had learned so much but just knowing it didn't beat actually experiencing it.

Which was why he had asked plenty of times if he could join someone on their missions. He had grown envious of the people who would constantly venture outside the base for their missions. He wanted to experience what the outside world beyond the leaf village was like. He wanted to test if his training here was worth anything. Even though he asked Danzo about this he was always denied stating that he wasn't ready. The only thing he could do was wait for his chance to prove himself.

(4 months later)

It had been a full year since Naruto had arrived here. He was now 11 years old and had grown a couple of inches since then. He now stood at 5'4 and his structure was solid after the yearlong of training. It was officially time to receive his very own mask which was seen as a sort of graduation into the family. His options were limited but he knew which one he wanted from the bunch. It was entirely white with two holes for his eyes but on his right sigh it had a unique purple scar going down it. His name was also supposed to change. He had free will to choose his new name made specifically for Root. After giving it some thought he had chosen to go with Yami meaning Dark. He felt that was perfect for his new role. He was simply darkness.

Here he stood with his fully black clothing and mask while his sword was strapped securely behind his back. "Danzo-sama I'm here like you requested".

The mysterious man who had trained Naruto for an entire year smirked at how formal the boy had become. He responded to the young boy with his new name. "Yami-kun I have a special request for you that I think you will find most intriguing. Since you have been asking for a mission for quite some time I decided it was finally the time to grant you your wish". The man stood up from his chair and stood directly in front of the boy. "Yami-kun please remove your mask I can barely see you". He gave a rare chuckle prompting the boy to remove his blackened mask.

Naruto did what was told of him and carefully removed his mask revealing his matured face with different colored eyes. "Forgive my rudeness Danzo-sama. I had just gotten so used to wearing it that I had forgotten".

Danzo waved him off. "Do not worry about formalities between us Yami-kun. It was an honest mistake. Now onto more important matters about this mission I was talking about. I want you to experience what it is like to live on your own for a while. This will help you tremendously if you can sustain yourself. You can travel anywhere you want but just remember that if you are caught in something it is out of my control and I will not help you. However, due try to send me letters to see how you are doing alright".

Naruto nodded with the information feeling anxious at his new mission. Of course his face expressed no such emotion but nonetheless it was there. "I will accept your offer Danzo-sama".

Danzo nodded and retrieved a scroll from his sleeve handing it to the boy. "Here Yami-kun this will be your guide for your journey. In it is a current map listing all the locations. You decide where to travel but remember not every village will accept a random stranger. Also do not use your real name if you meet anyone out there. Use your Root given name from now on. You have 1 year from now to return. Hokage-sama wants you to attend the academy at least on the last week to receive your team".

Naruto nodded eagerly accepting all the information. "Is that all Danzo-sama?

Danzo quickly fetched a small pouch filled with money and handed it to the boy. "Here this will help you at least for a couple of weeks. You will have to learn to earn money by doing whatever jobs that are offered". He began to walk towards the exit nudging for the boy to follow.

Naruto saw the exit approaching and knew this was it. After giving his farewell he exited the base and was presented with lush vegetation all around him. Putting his mask back on he reached for his cloak and donned it as well covering his entire body. Looking at the map he received he saw all the opportunities before him. Putting it back on his body he gazed at the glowing moon and whispered. "This is just the beginning. I wonder what my travels will bring me. Only time will tell".

Ongoing Stats (Out of 5)

Uzumaki Naruto (Yami)

Ninjutsu: 2

Taijutsu: 4

Genjutsu: 1.5

Intelligence: 4

Strength: 3

Speed: 4

Stamina: 4

Hand-seals: 1.5

Total Score: 24

A/N: and scene. Well what do you think so far interesting? This will be the first arc where he travels and meets new people. If you want a mental picture of how Naruto looks like more or less just picture Hei from darker than black. If you wondering about his power of stopping time well more will be revealed about it. Also I got it from Darker than black if you didn't guess already. If you wondering about the rating system then it's pretty straight forward. Whenever someone worth something comes in contact with him or others I will put their strength. I saw it in some stories and I liked it so year. Please review and I'll see you later.