At first, it was the rescued merchant sailors who brought it up in port taverns.
"That Spade Adventure Group captain punched straight through a pirate ship!"
"His flames were like the sun!"
"He's not a pirate. He's an adventurer!"
Some people in the tavern refused to believe it.
But soon, records of the Spade Adventure Group's cooperation appeared on Marine branch bulletin boards.
Later, the News Coo brought small newspaper reports.
[During the Purge War, a young Adventure Group rises.]
[Fire Fist Ace repeatedly assists with rescue and suppression operations.]
[The flames beneath the Spade flag are becoming a new aspiration for the young.]
The Purge War continued to push through the outskirts of the New World.
Trade routes that pirates had once crushed beyond endurance were finally beginning to see ordinary ships again.
It was against this backdrop that the Spade Adventure Group's name grew ever louder.
They were not the Marines' main force.
Yet wherever merchant ships came under attack, that burning Spade flag might appear.
Wherever disaster struck at sea and cries for help arose, the Striker might come cutting through the waves.
Wherever remnants of pirate crews took advantage of the chaos to plunder, a Fire Fist might smash through the bow of their ship.
More and more young people began to imitate Ace.
Some burned their skull flags and painted new emblems for their own Adventure Groups.
Some no longer said, "I want to become a pirate," but instead said, "I want to adventure in the New World."
They escorted merchant ships, searched for survivors of shipwrecks, explored unknown islands, and drew their blades to charge at evil pirates.
Of course, most new Adventure Groups were still very inexperienced.
Some cried in fright at the waves, while others wanted to go home the first time