After returning to the surface, Roenaldo said his farewells to Cap'n Cuttlefish and transported himself back to Inkopolis Plaza. There, seeing that it was getting late, he decided to buy a very small and cheap meal from a sandwich shop. "Okay," he said as he purchased his food, "This marks the last time I rely on others to feed me. I need to learn how to cook for myself." He took his cod and lettuce sandwich back with him to his house, enjoying it before tucking in for the night. He awoke the next morning, his yellow shirt still having a bit of ketchup on his yellow shirt. Paying no heed to this fact, he gathered his usual gear and made his way for Inkopolis Plaza. There, he saw a large moving van sitting smack-dab in the middle of the area. He looked at it with curiosity before walking around it and noticing a booth that had an electronic display that showed a variety of messages: "Cat and Dog Splatfest coming soon! Pick your team now! The event will start soon!" Roenaldo approached closer to see that there were two buttons on each side of the booth for each of the options. As he had determined during the Splatfest announcement, Roenaldo chose the "Dog" option, causing the booth to immediately dispense a T-shirt with the picture of a dog on it. He held it up, thinking, Now, what's this for? I guess it's just a way of showing everyone what I picked. I don't really think I need a whole T-shirt to show off this info, though...eh, at least the design is nice. He made a quick run for his house to store his new apparel before heading back to Inkopolis Plaza and into the Lobby.
Once he got there, he went to the terminal to register for a normal Turf War until he got a surprising message. "CONGRATULATIONS, ROENALDO," said the words on the screen, "YOU HAVE GAINED ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO PARTICIPATE IN RANKED BATTLES. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE AN EXPLANATION ON RANKED BATTLES?" The options "Yes and No" appeared on screen, and Roenaldo chose the former one. "IN RANKED BATTLES," said the computer, "EACH TEAM MUST WORK TOWARDS COMPLETING A CERTAIN OBJECTIVE. IN TOWER CONTROL, ONE TEAM MUST RIDE THE TOWER TO MOVE IT TOWARDS THE GOAL. IN SPLAT ZONES, ONE TEAM MUST KEEP A CERTAIN SECTION OF THE MAP PAINTED IN THEIR COLOR. AND FINALLY, IN RAINMAKER, ONE TEAM MUST CARRY THE POWERFUL RAINMAKER WEAPON TO ITS DESTINATION. RANKED MODES CAN BE CHALLENGING TO SOME, BUT THE INCREASED PAYOUT AND SENSE OF THRILL COMPARED TO TURF WARS CAN BE ENJOYABLE. THE CURRENT RANKED MODE IS SPLAT ZONES, SO YOU MAY START WHENEVER YOU WISH." Roenaldo beamed with joy, musing, Increased payout? That's exactly what I need! I should definitely try out these Ranked Battles. Eager to gain more money, Roenaldo signed up for a Ranked Battle, and he waited in the Lobby for more Inklings of his current rank, that being C-, to join. Once everyone was ready, they all stepped in the elevator to travel to Saltspray Rig.
As soon as Roenaldo entered the rig, he was hit with the salty smell of the sea. Although the smell was foreign to a country-born Inkling like himself, he found the aroma to be quite pleasant. As he enjoyed the scent, a different, rough-voiced, male announcer came on, saying, "Alright, C-ranks, this isn't your average Turf War battle. Here, you're going to have to ink a bit more tactically if you want to win. But you don't need me to tell you that, right? So, without any further ado, let's start!" A bell rang followed by fast-paced tropical music, and everyone ran forward. "Okay, guys," said one girl holding a long-ranged gun, "You all can just paint or whatever in the zone. I'll see if I can snipe some people." Hearing her words, Roenaldo took his Splat Roller and inked a path for his teammates toward the middle of the rig, where he assumed this "zone" to be. This assumption proved to be correct, as there was an area surrounded by crates, pipes and walls that had a dotted line surrounding it. "Hey," said Roenaldo to his blue-haired teammate, "I'm supposed to paint this, right?" The boy narrowed his eyes at Roenaldo, replying, "Yes, I think that's the main objective of this game." Roenaldo, realizing that he asked an obvious question, laughed in embarrassment before clearing his throat and rolling through the zone. He made it just about halfway before he met a Splattershot-user who was more than happy to shoot some ink directly at his head. As Roenaldo's ghost flew into the air, he saw the 3 other members of the opposing orange team storming in, and they all started painting the zone.
Once he had his body restored, he heard the announcer say, "The orange team has gained control of the Splat Zone! Their countdown begins now." As the announcer said that, Roenaldo heard a clock ticking. Not wanting to know what would happen if the ticking stopped, Roenaldo used the path he had made to swim as fast as he could to the zone. Once he got there, he saw his teammates struggling to out paint the other 4 Inklings without him. "Hey, you," said the same Inkling boy with a Splattershot, "You're a Roller. Why don't you get over there and crush these buffoons?" Roenaldo nodded, taking his weapon and running into the line of fire. Once he was close enough to the enemy, he swung as hard as he could, hoping, praying that he could hit someone. This effort resulted in him getting one Inkling down, but the other two used their different weapons to blast Roenaldo all the way back to his base. That being said, Roenaldo provided enough of a distraction for his teammates to finish the job, the Splattershot-user closing in to chase the Inklings and the long-range gun-user picking off the fleeing targets. The resulting ink explosions were enough to paint the zone blue, causing the announcer to say, "Looks like the blue team is in control now. They're now at 100, counting down, and the orange team is at 80."
As Roenaldo respawned, he said to himself, "Darn it. All that swinging and I was only able to take down one squid. Oh well, at least we've painted the zone." Roenaldo once again swam to the zone, where his teammates were waiting. "Ay," said a girl who was using an exploding shot-firing weapon, "Great job on that distraction! But we can't just sit here waiting for the enemy to paint the zone again. Paint, paint, paint the zone, and don't let even a drop of orange remain, you hear me?" Roenaldo took a second to rest his arms, responding, "Okay, I'll get to it!" With that, he swam around in the completely blue area, keeping a wary eye out for any approaching Inklings. Suddenly, a Splat Bomb came flying in. Roenaldo quickly turned to the left, avoiding the resulting blast. As soon as that attack finished, another Splat Bomb arrived, forcing Roenaldo to swim to the right. Oh boy, he thought, now where have I seen this before? He quickly arose from the ink to paint the big splotches of ink left behind by the explosives, thereby exposing his location to an Inkling on the other team. She immediately reached into her small, silver gun and retrieved a peculiar sub weapon shaped like a boat. She then hurled it towards Roenaldo, prompting him to walk to the left. However, once he did that, the sub weapon raised its flag and heat seeked its way towards Roenaldo. Wait, he thought, what is this?! I've never seen this before! No matter how hard he tried, Roenaldo could not escape the bomb while it was in pursuit, and he was soon blown to bits as soon as the weapon touched him. This time, as his spirit arose, he saw the enemy team repaint the zone, making the announcer say, "Oh, so close! The blue team's timer is at 81 while the orange team is at 80. However, the orange team must wait an extra 13 seconds as a penalty for losing control, so a turnaround is still possible." Hearing this good news, Roenaldo proceeded to have his body revitalized.
Roenaldo returned to the zone to hear his camping teammate say, "Hey, Roller-boy. I'm noticing a lot of you rushing in and a lot of you getting splatted. How's about you start using your sub weapon a little instead of just blitzing it?" Roenaldo scratched his head in embarrassment, replying, "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that! Okay, I've got it." He retrieved a Suction Bomb from his sub weapon compartment and hurled it over the bundle of pipes in the middle, hoping to get someone. The long detonation time of the Suction Bomb prevented Roenaldo from getting any splats, but the threat of being blown up forced one Inkling to swim away from his hiding spot, which Roenaldo's long-range teammate immediately took advantage of. "Yeah," she said, "That's what I'm talking about! Just keep on doing that, my friend." Roenaldo nodded before refilling his ink supply; the Suction Bomb took a lot out of him, and he did not want to be dry when it mattered most. Afterwards, he worked along with 2 of his teammates to paint the zone in their color. "Wow," said the announcer, "The orange team didn't even have a chance to remove their penalty! On the other hand, the blue team now has a penalty of their own, that being 14 seconds." The ticking resumed as Roenaldo refilled his ink to prepare for the incoming onslaught.
Hmm, he thought, you know, I ought to be taking some preemptive action. Like Cap'n Cuttlefish said, it is best to keep as much of an area under your control. Let me go and paint the area ahead so that it'll be harder for the enemy to approach. And so, he did. He took his Splat Roller and inked as much as he could, making sure that he was not being shot at in the process. As he took the time to do this, the announcer said, "Great job, blue team! You are now in the lead. Keep the zone inked, and we'll be done with this battle in no time!" The beneficial news that he heard along with his own ink output stimulated Roenaldo's senses in such a way that his tentacles started glowing in that telltale way; his Killer Wail was now ready. With excitement, he ran behind the zone so that he could have as much view as possible. Once he was in a favorable position, he initiated the transformation of his standard weapon into its special variant, and he positioned his mouth towards the mic with gusto. He took a deep breath before yelling the random phrase, "CHEESE AND CRACKERS!" The resulting blue beam of death cut straight through the middle of the stage, taking out two Inklings who were just attempting to make a push. Two of Roenaldo's teammates then took out the duo. From then on, Roenaldo simply applied the knowledge that had been granted to him by the captain, strategically painting the area and making good use of every aspect of his weapon until his team's timer went to 0. "Aaand," said the announcer, "That's game! Congratulations, blue team, you knocked them out! Everyone, head on back to the Lobby." Roenaldo beamed with pride at his accomplishment, thinking, "Very nice! This Ranked Battle business isn't too bad!"