After destroying the mailman's boat, leaving him stranded on the island, they return to the Yogi Pooh to set sail immediately. Pretty much all of them opt to forget what happened on that little island of the coast of Miller Island.
Although, William and Duros noticed something particular. Right before they boarded their little boat to return to the ship, they saw Verona sneakily pocket some of the old man's letters. As the captain, William finds it rather odd, so he decides to question his navigator when they board the ship.
-Hey Verona. Is everything ok? – William asks making sure the rest of the crew, and Pearl, aren't able to hear them. Verona didn't seem to want the rest of the crew to know about the letters so the captain decides to keep it that way.
-Yep. Everything is A-OK. – Verona responds with his usual tone.
But William knew he was trying to hide something. However, his crew always had a sort of unspoken rule about respecting their crewmate secrets. If they don't want to talk about it, you don't talk about it.
The last stretch of the journey occurs with no repercussions. The Navy vessel they saw leaving Miller Island and head west seems to have looped around the island or it might have gone somewhere else.
And then, after two more days of sailing, they finally have the treasure island in their sights.
-Land Ahoy!!! – Verona exclaims from on top of the crow's nest.
The crew goes to the front of the ship to try and see the island, but the thick fog makes it very difficult to see that far ahead.
-I hope there's no one living on that island… – Pearl comments laying on the wall of the ship – Every island we've been up until now ended up with at least one innocent person dead.
William looks at her with disdain. Fully aware of what she's saying is true.
As they slowly get closer to the island, Verona can now take a good look at it with his spy glasses.
-…Umm guys. We might have a problem. – He says.
They finally arrive at the shore and the first thing they notice is the great amount of snow that covers the entire island. The weird thing is, the snow is only falling on top of the island. And as they land, they also notice the lack of cold despite the heavy snowfall.
-I've heard of crazy weather phenomena before, Especially in the Grand Line. But this one is new to me. – Verona comments as they make their way into the island. The snow only seems to get thicker and thicker the more they advance.
Something they also notice is the weirdly shaped mountain that appears to be in the center of the island.
-Hey, can you hear that weird noise too? – Pearl comments looking around. Her vision being obscured by the snow.
Before anyone could react to what she said, a giant polar bear appears seemingly out of nowhere. Roaring as it makes its way towards the group.
-Holy shit that's a big bear! – William states the obvious while taking out his flintlock – Duros, Ragnar, you stay on the front! Verona, you and I will shoot at him.
-Aye, aye Captain! – Verona responds aiming with Little Timmy.
Duros quickly takes out his mace and hits the monster in the face making the bear back off a few inches.
Ragnar follows suit swinging his great ax but the snow, combined with the polar bear's quick reflexes, makes him miss the target. Putting him right in the line of fire of Verona's shot.
-ARGH! Where did that come from? – Ragnar asks looking around while holding the bullet wound in his right arm. Perception really isn't one of his strengths.
William on the other hand manages to get a decent shot on the polar bear's face. Ripping off a chunk of its cheek.
The bear, now more enraged than before, swings his claws at Ragnar but is quickly blocked by Duros.
The bear takes this opportunity to bite Duros in the neck. His narrow snout making it easier to get inside Duros' armor thanks to his lack of helmet.
Pearl then jumps on top of Duros' shoulders and with no hesitation, covers the beast in flames using her fire breath.
She jumps back down and blows the remaining smoke coming out of her mouth away.
The crew looks at her in awe. They already suspected that she could do something of the like thanks to her ability to heat food. But it's always impressive to see it live and clear.
The polar bear backs off while screaming in pain of having his flesh incinerated. It roars with all its might in preparation for another attack.
-HEADS UP YALL! – A man's voice coming from a silhouette behind the bear suddenly warns them.
The next thing they see is the giant polar bear caught up by an explosion. The beast falls to the ground dead.
The crew is stunned for a bit thanks to the explosion. The silhouette comes closer and the group can now see the one responsible for the explosion clearly.
The man wears a purple ranger hat with a yellow stripe that sits over the top of his long, blond hair tied into a ponytail. He has a long slender face with what seems to be yellow tattoos in the shape of rectangles right below his eyes and a goatee with the same blonde color as his hair. He also wears a purple bomber-man jacket with yellow accents and a small bomb patch with a face on it, with the same yellow stripes he has under his eyes, he also appears to wear dark jeans.
-Howdy yall? – The man lights up a cigarette and takes a long drag off it before continuing with a smile – The name's Atom. You're welcome, by the way.