Luffy and Ludo's Arc

Chapter 9 of 11

The blue road ended at a clearing. Stone lanterns stood among raked gravel and a small koi pond. A wooden bridge arched over the water. Luffy and Ludo knew the place. The blind monk had spoken of a garden hidden deep in these woods. Now they had found it. Bruno sat on the bridge, his white eyes turned toward nothing, as if he had waited for them. Max stopped walking. His yellow eyes fixed on the monk. "You," he said. His paw dropped to the knife at his belt. "You served in the fortress. I saw you near Minnie's hall." His tail lashed. "How do I know you won't run back and trade us for coin?" Bruno did not rise. "You don't," he said. "But he does." He tipped his nose at Max. "A prince with no crown. Minnie holds his throne. He knows every door in that keep, and now he knows how you took the scroll. That knife should point the other way." Luffy turned. Ludo turned with him. The truth landed hard. Max had led them through the maze. Max had seen them beat the empress. If his loyalty cracked, he could sell them all back to Minnie for his crown. "He's right," Ludo said quietly. "Max. Look at me." Max's ears flattened. For a long moment no one moved. Water dripped off the bridge. Then Max let the knife go. He knelt by the pond and pulled the chain from his belt, the last chain Minnie had locked on him. He dropped it into the koi pond. It sank in a curl of silver. "I don't want her crown," Max said. "I want it burned." He looked up at the siblings. "She chained me for six winters. You broke the lock. I'll never wear anything she touched. Point your blades at me if you need to. But I'm with you." Luffy crossed the gravel. He held out the scroll, then pressed Max's paw against it. "Then you carry it next," Luffy said. "A traitor doesn't guard the prize." Max's grip closed on the scroll. Something changed in his face. The cautious rival was gone. Now he was one of them. Bruno rose at last. "Good," he said. "Because the warlord who killed your clan waits past this forest. And Minnie has already sent word to him. He knows the scroll walks free." He limped toward a path beyond the pond. "Rest here tonight. Tomorrow I take you to his gate." Luffy and Ludo looked at each other. Max stood beside them now, the scroll against his chest. They had feared him. That fear was dead. But a new one took its place. The warlord knew they were coming.