Trials of the World, Chapter 3

Greetings, readers~. I hope you are doing well~. Thanks to Zeno(Zeon1), I have a better grasp of actual writing styles, rather than my script format that explains so little~. I will leave everything I've done before in their Script format, but, from now on, I shall do this style of writing, with my own personal touches of course~. Enjoy the chapters~.

## Chapter 3

**Play: Trials of the World, Opening #1, Get Over**

**Summary of Last Chapter/Setting: After finally beginning his journey, Kyoto stumbled upon West Blue's most infamous island, Smear Island, an island known for having citizens with a chaotic nature, especially Torch Town. After Kyoto met with two Fuego Town residents, Marsho and Ippon, he was taken to Fuego Town to meet the Chief, Okto, who explained why Smear Island is the way it is. Interested, Kyoto decided to head out to Torch Town to solve Smear Island's solution, however, due to hunger, he decided to head out to Tar Town in hopes he'd find food there.**

The sun shone brightly over Smear Island, but gave off very little heat to the island down below, making it a suitable day to be outside and enjoy the sunshine. On the way to Tar Town, Kyoto was surprised that the grass wasn't completely destroyed, believing that it would've died out considering no one on the island seemed to care for a beautiful scenery. He deduced the island received a decent amount of rain, and also sunlight, allowing for the grass to at least be decent for onlookers. As Kyoto reached Tar Town, he noticed it to be in a much worse condition than Fuego Town. The walling surrounding the Town was mostly cracked and broken, leaving many entrances for people to enter through. The buildings themselves weren't fairing so well themselves either. Mostly every building was either burnt down or destroyed. Oddly enough, however, there seemed to be no sign of life. No corpses, no slowly dying people, nothing.

Kyoto walked further into the town seeing no differences than when he was outside of Tar Town. The town was rather small compared to the others, however. It had no significant landmarks, just buildings as far as the eye can see. Kyoto remembered that Okto said there'd be food in Tar Town, but, it seemed like Okto was mistaken. When was the last time anyone visited Tar Town? Kyoto wondered.

Continuing with his walk through the desolate town, he stumbled upon a near-destroyed shop. He entered the shop and found nothing significant, unable to tell what the shop previously sold. Giving up, Kyoto was about to leave until he noticed something on the ground, mostly covered in rubble. It was an old piece of paper. Kyoto picked it up and read it aloud. "Failure... Pro... ct... no Mi..." Kyoto pondered at what the paper was stating. The majority of it was either ripped, or unreadable. Growing bored, Kyoto discarded the piece of paper and walked out of the shop. Unsatisfied, Kyoto sighed, then yawned. "Returning back to Fuego Town would be a waste. I guess I should just head to Torch Town," Kyoto said to no one in particular. "Now, what way was that again? Oh. Right. Guess I should keep going west. This island's only got three towns anyhow," Kyoto put a hand over his mouth and yawned again. He began his walk to Torch Town, hoping to reach it there shortly.

**~Smear Island, Fuego Town~**

Okto stared at the sky, pondering if sending Kyoto out was the best idea. No one was capable of defeating Rando, including the Marines from 15 years ago. Okto took himself out of his trance, hearing footsteps nearing him, surprised to see Ippon running and shortened of breath. "Ippon? Why are you in such a rush? I'm not going anywhere, ho ho ho," Okto said.

Ippon, still breathing heavily, tried to compose himself before speaking with the Village Chief. "Ch-ch-chief Okto! *they're* coming!"

"Who's coming, Ippon?" Okto's face changed to a more serious one.

"T-Them! Look!" Ippon, who had binoculars with him for sightseeing purposes, put it near the Chief's face so that he look out of it. Ippon told the Chief to look north, where the ocean was.

Okto looked through the binoculars, but failed to see what Ippon was so excited about. However, he noticed a small speck on the binoculars. Confused at what it was, he squinted his eyes so that he may get a clearer picture. Okto's eyes widened and then looked at Ippon. "Gather as many people as you can to the center of the town!" Okto returned his gaze to the sky. "I never would've guessed that we'd be seeing you guys again. Why have you come back?"

**~Smear Island, Torch Town~**

The wind has grown stronger, rustling what little trees Torch Town had around it. Clouds started to form within the sky as the sky grew slightly darker and the sun's brilliant light disappearing from sight. Kyoto finally reached his destination: Torch Town, the town that began Smear Island's downfall. Kyoto looked at the mostly destroyed walls surrounding the fallen town, where he could clearly see the remains of houses. He stepped within the town slowly, taking in the *sights*. No one remained. The air was polluted by the smell of blood, where large amounts of dried up blood can be found on the floors, houses and what was left of the walls. He passed by the water fountain that no longer spewed water, but blood. A body's legs, that were horribly decomposed with nothing but bones left, sticking out of the water. The smell of blood grew stronger as Kyoto reached the center of Torch Town, and within it, he stopped in his tracks, finally arriving at the purpose of his journey.

A large pile of corpses, that were nothing but bones, resided in the middle of Torch Town. Atop the mound of corpses was a human sitting with his sword plunged into a skull of a long deceased human. He wore a long red robe with long sleeves. A long white scarf covered his neck and mouth, in which it extended to about halfway on his back. A very pale-skinned human with three eyes that contained another eye within the eyes. He was looking up towards the sky, and then looked back down at Kyoto with an emotionless face. "I foresaw your arrival," the figure moved his free hand, calling the floating eyeball that was following Kyoto, unbeknownst to him, and then crushed it in his hand, making the eyeball disappear from existence. "A foreign human that never stepped onto this island before, until today. Seeing as you interacted with citizens of Fuego Town, you must know of this island's condition. Have you come here to battle me?"

Kyoto looked upward at the human atop the corpses and grinned. "So, you're the one named Rando, right?"

**Character Profile: Torch Town Survivor, Rando, Age 37**

Rando simply nodded at Kyoto's question.

"Funny, I expected you to be more menacing, or something, considering the stories that people tell about you," Kyoto yawned. "Anywho, though, I was asked to deal with you."

Rando narrowed his eyes slightly at the younger person. "Deal with me?" he said while taking his sword out of the skull it previously resided in and then standing up. "You don't seem strong enough to fight against someone of my criteria," Rando looked back up at the sky once more. "... Heh... Alright. I'll accept your challenge. However, I don't see how battling against me is beneficial to you in any way."

Kyoto grinned once more. "You'll see," Kyoto said smiling.

Rando jumped down from the pile of corpses, with his sword in his right hand aiming for Kyoto's head. Kyoto flipped backwards twice, dodging Rando's initial attack, but, when Kyoto looked up, he saw Rando running towards him with his sword extended. Kyoto moved to the left slightly, giving him enough space to have the sword not hit anything vital, however, it was able to scrape his right arm, making him begin to bleed through the wound. Kyoto put his left hand over the wound, and then a smile sprouted on his face. He put his left hand down and then ran towards Rando. Rando heard Kyoto coming from his right side and swung his sword horizontally in the air, to which Kyoto ducked and used his left leg to sweep Rando, dropping him to the ground. Rando quickly recovered from his fall, slicing the air vertically, which caused Kyoto to jump back so he wouldn't injure himself. Rando once more lunged towards Kyoto, which caused Kyoto to move to his left, and hold Rando's arm in place in the air.

"That won't work on me twice," Kyoto said whilst grinning.

Rando used this opportunity to throw Kyoto to his left, using the arm that Kyoto was holding, with his strength, causing Kyoto to fall on the floor. Rando stood over Kyoto and swung his sword downward at Kyoto, to which Kyoto rolled over to his left, dodging Rando's attack, and got up, back-flipping. Kyoto punched Rando in the face, knocking him to the left a few, crashing into the mound of corpses, knocking a few of the bones over. Rando held a hand to his head, and then looked at Kyoto who was coming in at him with his right arm readying to punch to Rando. Rando had little time to do any movement, other than to put his arms near his face. Kyoto reached Rando and punched him, knocking him deeper into the pile of corpses, completely covering him in it. Kyoto back-flipped twice, slightly panting.

"I know I haven't beaten you yet, so come on out, Rando. No use in hiding," Kyoto said.

Just then, an eyeball shot out from the corpses, hitting Kyoto in the gut, slightly injuring him. Ten more eyeballs shot out from the corpses shooting towards Kyoto. Two were shot at each arm, each leg and his gut. Kyoto knelt down in pain from the eyeballs.

**Play: Rando's Theme**

The pile of corpses moved from Rando emerging from within its depths, destroying its formation, scattering the bones to different areas. As soon as Rando was freed from the corpses' depths, three eyeballs emerged from the bones, floating above Rando. He moved his left hand, scattering the eyeballs in the air over Kyoto and Rando. "It seems I was foolish to underestimate you. Fighting nothing but trespassers from other towns has given me a sense that humans have become drastically weaker. I haven't had this much entertainment in 15 years," he sees Kyoto knelt over in pain. "This is my Devil Fruit. The Marines called it the Gankyū Gankyū no Mi. It allows me to turn anything I come in contact with, aside from living humans, into eyeballs. They're quite useful in allowing me to see different areas. However, as you just witnessed, they can be used for so much more," Rando began to step forward to Kyoto. "I can see the entire battlefield now. A novice such as yourself cannot surprise me with movements. This battle is over," Rando swings down his sword onto Kyoto, who merely dodged the attack by jumping backwards. Rando rushed in, lunging at Kyoto, who barely had time to react, received a slice below his left rib cage. Kyoto flipped backwards twice, putting his left hand on the wound, blood seeping from it, his back against against the wall of a house. "You're a very nimble human. Your reflexes may not be the best thing, but your recovery to attacks is outstanding," Rando ran towards Kyoto with his right arm over his left shoulder. Kyoto was still standing there in pain, unable to move in time. Rando reached Kyoto and slashed horizontally, but Kyoto ducked, losing a strand of his hair. Rando's blade caught on the house's decaying wood, giving Kyoto enough time to tuck himself and roll to a different spot, away from Rando. Rando freed his sword from the house and then faced Kyoto who had his head drooped downward, no longer holding his wound. Rando once more ran towards Kyoto, but, halfway stopped when he heard Kyoto snore. "... Are you sleeping?"

**Stop Rando's theme**

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I fell asleep for a moment, heh," Kyoto said, rubbing the back of his head.

Rando could only stand there with a dumbfounded face, unsure of what to say.

"You really are as scary as they say you are, huh? You're really strong. I just had to come here to Torch Town and see how strong you are. So, how about it, would you like to join my crew?" Kyoto said closing his eyes and grinning like a child.

Rando could only stare at Kyoto for asking such a question. He blinks once and then returns to his previous emotionless face. "Join you? For what purpose?"

"Because you're strong of course. Besides, we're not much different, you and I, right?"

Rando tightened his grip on his sword and scowled at Kyoto. "We're not much different? What gives you the right to say that? You heard the stories about my past. What gives YOU the right to say that?" Rando rushed towards Kyoto.

Kyoto moved his head side-to-side. "You're misunderstanding. Sure, you had a horrible past, and I'm sorry that it happened to you, but, that's over now, right?"

Rando grabbed the hilt of his sword with both his hands, raising it above his head, and swung his sword downward at Kyoto. Kyoto blocked the attack with his hand, receiving a large wound and blood rushing down his arm, and then grabbed the sword. "Nothing you do will bring your parents back, nor will it change what happened 20 years ago. Letting everyone else on this island suffer because of what they did to you isn't the way to live," Kyoto said, staring at Rando. Rando struggled, trying to release his sword from Kyoto's grip. "Rando, you need to live your life better than this. Come join me."

Rando finally released the sword from Kyoto's grip and jumped backwards a few steps. "Shut up! What could YOU possibly know about me? You didn't see your parents get killed right in front of you! Everyone on this island deserves to suffer, just like I've been suffering for all these years!" Rando ran towards Kyoto once more, angrily, having both of his hands on the hilt.

Kyoto once more moved his head side-to-side, disagreeing with Rando. "I guess there's no other way around this. Fine then. I'll defeat you, and make you see reason."

Rando finally reached Kyoto and slashed his sword diagonally. Kyoto merely stepped backwards, dodging the attack entirely. Kyoto used this opening to punch Rando in the gut and then kick him backwards into some rubble.

**Play: Kyoto's Theme**

"Ugh... What in the world..." Rando said, standing up from the rubble.

Kyoto's eyes were closed, and he was bouncing in place moving his hands in front of him rapidly. Kyoto ran towards Rando, giving Rando few time to react, and punched Rando in the gut several times, then punching upwards towards Rando's chin, knocking Rando's head back, and finally kicking Rando in his ribs, knocking him to the left. Rando got up, albeit slowly due to the pain, and rushed towards Kyoto once more, slashing sporadically, hoping to land a hit on Kyoto.

Why can't I land a hit on him? It's like he's reading my movements. Rando thought. No... It's different than that. He's sleeping. There's no way he could possibly be reading my movements... Unless... He's going by instinct, pure instinct. If that's the case...

Rando stopped slashing at Kyoto and put his left hand in the air. He directed the three eyeballs, that were floating above Kyoto and himself, at Kyoto. They glided through the air at a high speed and hit Kyoto, and then continued to pummel him at high speeds. Kyoto, in his sleep state, tried to attack the eyeballs, but couldn't. Kyoto forced himself awake and then punched the three eyeballs, destroying them.

"So you've awoken. That's an interesting technique you have. I've never seen anything like it," Rando said.

"Heh. That's because I made it. I tend to fall asleep easily, so, why not use it for combat?" Kyoto said whilst grinning.

Rando chuckled. "You're something else. What's your name?"

"Kyoto. The person who will soon be your Captain."

"I'd like to see you try," Rando dashed towards Kyoto, slashing his sword in front of him, with Kyoto dodging the attacks.

Kyoto, in the midst of the slashes, tried to punch Rando several times, but Rando dodged them. This kept going on for a few more minutes, as neither side received damage from this exchange of blows. Rando and Kyoto eventually jumped backwards, breathing heavily.

"Heh heh, you are strong! Still not convinced you should join me?" Kyoto said.

Rando moved his head side-to-side in disapproval. "No, it seems I'm not. You may be strong, but I still wish to make these people suffer."

**Stop Kyoto's theme**

Just as Rando and Kyoto were about to engage in their battle again, a loud sound is heard from the distance, which made them both look towards the ocean, the source of the sound. A black sphere flew in the sky, and then quickly started heading towards Kyoto and Rando. They both ran away from the sphere as far as they could. The sphere made impact with the ground and then exploded.

"What was that?" Kyoto asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it to be a cannonball. Which means, we have visitors," Rando said.

A loud thud was heard in the distance, which then came with the sound of people running through the sand and then through the grass. The people eventually made it to Torch Town, where they were all dressed in Marine garb. Some holding the Marine musket, while others were holding a sword in their hand. Amongst the soldiers was a different looking Marine. A person with the typical Marine haori was seen walking towards Rando and Kyoto.

**Marine Captain, Tutu, Age 26**

"Weeeeeeell, what have we here? Ah, yes, that's right. *Thousand Eyes* Rando, and some unknown other person. Hmmmmmmmm... I see, I see... This kid was able to match you it seems, Rando. You're slippin', ain't ya?" Tutu said.

Rando glared at the Marine. "Who are you?"

"Meeeeeee? Weeeeeeell, I guessss I'm someone of importance..." the Marine changed his composure to a more serious one. "After all, I am the little brother of the Marine you killed 15 years ago. My older brother, Ze, somehow lost to the likes of you. I've been ordered by Rear Admiral Oshan to capture you, where you will be sent to prison for the SEVERAL crimes you've committed. Are you ready to face justice?"

**Play: Trials of the World, Ending #2**

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