Luffy and Ludo's Arc

Chapter 2 of 11

The caravan slowed as darkness swallowed the road. Under the tarp, Luffy and Ludo pressed flat between the oil jars. Word of them had reached the front. Boots crunched past the cart. Somewhere ahead, the gates of a fortress waited, and unloading hands would peel back every tarp and drag out every stowaway. Their scent alone would betray them among the grain. "They'll check the cargo at the gate," Ludo whispered. "We can't just hide. We have to look like we belong." Luffy scanned the cart. Sacks of grain. Rope. A crate of gray tribute robes bound for the fortress servants. He grabbed two. "Put these on. Over the ninja gear. We carry, we unload, we walk right in." They pulled the plain robes over their masks and vests. The cloth hid the black. But it did not hide their faces, and the thrown guard had seen those faces. A figure moved at the tailboard. A black long-haired dog in a monk's robe climbed up beside them, slow and sure. His eyes were pale and fixed on nothing. He was blind. Yet he turned his head straight toward Luffy. "Two cats who smell of smoke and oil," the monk said softly. "The whole line hunts you. You wear servant robes now. Clever. But your faces will end you at the lamplight." Luffy's paw dropped to his blade. "Stay back." "I am no guard." The monk reached into his robe and drew out a small clay pot. "I walk with this caravan because the warlord permits it. He should not." He held out the pot. "Ash and root. Rub it on your fur. It darkens the face and dulls the scent. The gate dogs won't know you." Ludo took the pot. "Why help us?" "Because I know who slaughtered your clan." The monk's voice stayed calm. "So do you." They smeared the paste over their cheeks and muzzles. Their bright markings vanished under gray. The oil stink faded beneath the bitter root. When Luffy touched his own face, he felt like a stranger. The carts rolled forward. Torchlight spread across the tarp. The gate. "Down. Carry a sack each," the monk murmured. "Follow the others. Do not run." The cart stopped. A guard yanked the tarp back. Luffy hoisted a grain sack to his shoulder and stepped down, head low. The guard's lantern swung across his darkened face. He grunted and waved him on. Ludo followed. They walked through the gate in a line of servants, sacks bent over their backs, into the warlord's fortress. Inside the walls, the monk fell in beside them. "You are in now," he said. "But the scroll sits in the warlord's own keep, past his empress and her chained prince. Getting out is harder than getting in." Luffy set down the sack. They had reached the warlord's ground at last. Now the walls surrounded them on every side.