Endeavor Agency Arc

The Endeavor Agency Arc is the seventeenth story arc in My Hero Academia, as well as the eighth story arc in the Rise of Villains Saga.

With the Hero Work-Studies back in effect, the three top students of Class 1-A study under the new No. 1 Pro Hero, unknowingly preparing for the War to come. Meanwhile, Endeavor undergoes an uncharacteristic epiphany.

End of the Year
In Class 1-A's dorms, Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugo are being interviewed for their accomplishment of defeating a gang of villains right after obtaining their Provisional Hero Licenses. Shoto gives very straight-laced answers while Katsuki gives angry shouty ones. When the interviewer asks them if they get along, Shoto says yes, but Katsuki furiously denies the idea that they are friends. Katsuki's aggressive attitude and responses leaves his classmates in shock.

When the official broadcast airs in late December, all of Katsuki's footage is cut out, which infuriates him. Some of his classmates, like Hanta and Denki, laugh at this, especially since the finalized interview's run-time turns out to be a whole hour. Izuku comments that Katsuki's behavior wasn't very "All-Might-ish" while Momo and Kyoka express pity for Katsuki's lack of good publicity.

When the broadcast of the interview ends, Izuku checks on the daily news. The anchors talk about the incident in Deika City that occurred nine days ago, in which 20 individuals brought the city to the brink of destruction in only fifty minutes. Tenya comments that the scale of destruction was greater than the Kamino Incident, although with fewer casualties.

The reporters also show that society's response to this devastating event was one of support, rather than criticism of the heroes involved. Ochaco Uraraka and Mina Ashido point out that everything's changing since the "Can't You See?" kid showed his support for Endeavor.

Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Mt. Lady, accompanied by Midnight. The students are surprised to see her there, and Shota Aizawa clarifies Mt. Lady is brought in as a guest lecturer to coach the students on how to present themselves to the media. Though Minoru Mineta immediately points out that Mt. Lady is the most "showbiz" hero out there, Mt. Lady ignores him and encourages Class 1-A to try their best for the "Hero Interview Training", with her playing the role of an interviewer.

Shoto is the first to get interviewed by Mt. Lady and is clueless at reading the mood or intention of some of her questions. Mt. Lady asks Shoto to show one of his Ultimate Moves. Shoto starts off by unleashing his trademark attack Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall and explains its many uses. Kyoka and Toru Hagakure wonder about Flashfire Fist but Shoto claims that he has yet to reach the same level as his father.

Fumikage Tokoyami wonders if the students should reveal their special moves during interviews. Mt. Lady assures him that doing so has value beyond showing off: displaying their moves will make them more recognizable, easier to team up with, and a reassuring presence to the public. Her explanation shocks Minoru, who remarks that Mt. Lady did not care for anything other than being on camera during his internship with her. Shota adds that not only did Mt. Lady change, but so did every other hero out there. The mock interviews continue and all of Class 1-A do well except for Katsuki, who ends up flopping his interview with his explosive behavior. Midnight muses to Shota that Katsuki is better off following his homeroom teacher's path of avoiding the media.

The last interview goes to Izuku, who gets so nervous that his body turns all stiff and edgy. Eijiro mistakes this for Izuku being able to use Hardening just like him. Mt. Lady mentions that many of Izuku's moves are homages to All Might's. At this, Izuku excitedly goes on a trademark ramble, but Midnight interrupts to ask about his newly developed Blackwhip Quirk. Izuku demonstrates his newfound power, focusing on his inner strength as he visualizes what unlocking the ability will be like. With enough concentration, Izuku unleashes a small wisp of his Blackwhip ability. Izuku is happy about being able to do that but nobody else is impressed.

Meanwhile, Nezu visits Toshinori in his dormitory and wonders why he appears more skeletal than usual. All Might tells the principal that he was collecting all the information he could find about the previous One For All inheritors and their Quirks to help Izuku. Nezu informs him that the next round of the Hero Work-Studies will begin soon.

The teaching staff of the U.A. holds a meeting at the Conference Room. Nezu notifies all the U.A. teachers that the Hero Public Safety Commission has made a request that from now on, every hero course student is required to train by attending Hero Work-Studies. For everyone, it is clear that the Commission suspects that the League of Villains has been involved in the Deika City Incident, and expects some kind of huge imminent crisis, and wants all heroes to be ready for what can happen, although they try to be ambiguous with their requests. Nezu concludes the gathering by clarifying that being prepared is the norm of every hero, and asks teachers to contact the most accomplished heroes.

Few days later, Nezu talks to Toshinori and detective Naomasa through a video call. They talk about the fact that since all the students moved into Heights Alliance four months ago, they've been watching them to discover the League’s spy, but since none of them have exhibited suspicious activities, they do not believe that the traitor is hidden in the student body. In fact, Toshinori has total confidence in all of them, to which Nezu replies he knows that. The principal asks him if he will return to U.A. that day. Toshinori panics momentarily and asks if something has happened to Izuku. Nezu remarks that Toshinori apparently forgot which day of December it is today.

At Heights Alliance, Class 1-A prepares to celebrate Christmas as they discuss their future planning for the next Hero Work-Studies. Ochaco and Tsuyu will return with Ryukyu. Tenya asks Izuku what he plans to do for Work-Studies. Izuku removes all the chances to return to the same agents, including Gran Torino. He already talked with Centipeter about doing the Work-Studies in Nighteye Agency, but unfortunately he told him that would be not possible since the group is heavily busy with paper works, so he is in limbo.

Eijiro asks Katsuki if he is heading back to Best Jeanist, to which he replies that he still does not know, while remembering the news about Jeanist’s disappearance. He also recalls when he did his Hero Agency Internship with him. At that time, while Best Jeanist was combing his hair, he asked him about his hero name. Katsuki tells him that all the names he had chosen had been rejected. Best Jeanist tells him that an alias represents what he wants to be and what he ought to be, so he asks him that when he become a second-year student and received his provisional license, return to him and tell him his hero name.

Back to the present, Eijiro reminds him that he still has many Hero Agencies to choose from to do his Work-Studies at, but Katsuki refuses to go to any of them. Minoru gets impatient, saying that they are now there to celebrate Christmas, not to talk about school stuff. Rikido says that he does have a point, entering in the common room with a turkey that had roasted.

Shortly after Shota arrives with Eri dressed as Santa Claus for the Christmas Party. Everyone is glad for her presence, and Eijiro asks the teacher if Mirio would come too but he replies that he is celebrating Christmas with his classmates. Izuku realizes that Eri's horn has become bigger. Shota tells Eri is now much more positive and optimistic. Apparently, she took Izuku's words of encouragement to heart.

Everyone celebrates Christmas and have fun, holding a surprise gift exchange. When the party is over and while they help pick up and clean the room, Shoto approaches Izuku and Katsuki. Knowing they have no where to go for their Work-Studies, Shoto offers them a chance to intern at his father's agency. They both end up accepting his offer, and later tell All Might about it.

All Might finds the idea that they both do the Work Studies with Endeavor together with Shoto great. When Izuku asks him about his training with the One For All, he replies that there should be no problems because as long he has mastered the image of "locking" and "unlocking", All Might he doesn't expect that he will experience more outbursts. As for Katsuki, All Might tells him that it will benefit him work with Endeavor, since both are very similar.

For New Year's Eve, the U.A. Staff allows their students to return to their homes for a day, escorted by pro heroes. Izuku returns to his apartment to enjoy the holiday with his mother Inko. Izuku tells her what happened to him during the Joint Training Battle, which makes her mother almost faint from the impression. Izuku continues and shows his mother how beloved he is as a hero, this time with a letter Eri wrote to him thanking him for her good time in the School Festival. This makes Inko to cry a waterfall of tears of joy.

Inko confesses that she has always been worried about him, because that despite being born Quirkless, he has always tried to help others, even if he ends up with bruises. That's why she always thought she had to be there to protect him, but acknowledged how much he grew, she no longer feels worried about him. This words make Izuku and his mother causing a waterfall at their apartment building due to them both happily crying.

On the morning of New Year's Day, Izuku is picked up by Cementoss to take him to the place where he will do the Work-Studies. Inko says goodbye to her son and asks him to do his best.

Preparations for the Future
Hawks returns to the Gunga Montain Villa from a coffee run. He is reprimanded by Slidin' Go for being absent without permission. Hawks complains, saying that he just went to buy a decent coffee since the variety at the base is nasty, also reminding him that he had the freedom to do as he pleased, which is the organization's goal. Slidin' Go warns Hawks for not showing him proper etiquette, stating he is his superior.

Skeptic overhears this and quickly puts Slidin' Go in his place, bluntly reminding him that he is just a low-ranking hero, while Hawks' status as the number two hero is vastly more resourceful and useful to the PLF then he is by a longshot. Thanks to his position, he has access to the Hero's central information network. For this reason, Skeptic planted microdevices in Hawks' wings to monitor the Heroes' activities and that he also knows what Keigo himself has been doing. He then tells Hawks that he has caused quite a big fuss for just a coffee run. Hawks replies that he likes it sweet.

After things quell down, Keigo briefly recalls how he told his superiors that he finally managed to contact Dabi, but that he is still wary of him and that from that point their conversations will be monitored and have them communicate in code while he investigates the Nomu manufacturing location.

Meanwhile, back to the present, Shoto brings Izuku and Katsuki to meet his father on an overpass in the city. Endeavor appears to welcome the students kindly, only to aggressively change his his mood and show his distaste for Izuku and Katsuki's presence, explaining that he only accepted them because his son asked him to, and he would have preferred having Shoto alone. Shoto reminds the No. 1 Hero that he accepted the other two as interns and therefore has no right to complain.

After that first impression, Katsuki does not hesitate to say that Endeavor is a jerk, although he will put up with it if that means he can see how the top hero operates. Katsuki's attitude displeases Endeavor and asks Shoto if he really is his friend. Izuku, on the other hand, thanks Endeavor for taking them in and notices how much calmer the Flame Hero appears now compared when they met during the Sports Festival months ago. At that moment, the aura of intimidation around him scared him a little, but now he seems different.

While they walk down the street, Endeavor remarks the words that Izuku said to him at the Sports Festival, about Shoto is not like him. Suddenly, Endeavor runs off saying that he won’t be wasting time training others than Shoto. He then leaps into action, as he hears a disturbance. Endeavor tells the interns to stand back and watch if they want to learn. To his surprise, the three young students put on their gear as they follow him, with Izuku asking him for his instructions. Endeavor repeats his order to stay behind him.

Meanwhile, there is a ruckus across the city caused by the mysterious Starservant. He's preaching about the end of days and that everyone will be destroyed, and uses his glass manipulation Quirk to harass the citizens. On a rooftop overlooking the city, Hawks is reading the Meta Liberation War and comments that this is horrible timing for him. The three students try to keep up with Endeavor, ready for action, but their new employer uses his Flashfire technique goes to outrun them. Izuku notes that Endeavor took off before anyone even noticed the commotion, which takes more than just speed.

In a business district, Starservant continues with his speech about the end of the world as he floats through the streets using his Quirk. The civilians see him as more of a nuisance than as a threat as they go about their business. Starservant continues preaching and tells the citizens to flee before he clashes with darkness. Starservant suddenly starts absorbing the glass from the windows in the area, gathering the glass into a giant sphere to prepare his super move, Enlightened Fallen King. He launches the glass ball down the street, demanding the dark herald reveal himself.

Before he can harm anyone, Endeavor appears and shatters the gigantic sphere with his Flashfire Fist, proclaiming to the old man that he does not intend to allow him to continue causing problems. Fearing the head of Endeavor's flames, Starservant bails out and flees down an alleyway, with Endeavor tailing him behind. When they are about to come out of the other end, the Starservant calls for his minions, ready to ambush Endeavor.

As the minions are about to strike the No. 1 hero from the corner, Izuku and Katsuki charge in ready to attack them, but Hawks suddenly appears and defeat all Starservant's subordinates by himself effortlessly. Uninhibited, Endeavor tackles Starservant to the ground and restrains him. Shoto arrives as Izuku and Katsuki recover. Hawks apologizes to the kids for being faster and says Endeavor looked like he was in trouble. Endeavor denies that and tells Hawks he is supposed to contact him if he wants to meet, and Hawks claims he was just passing by.

As the police arrive to take Starservant away, he starts saying that Endeavor is the root of the darkness that the world is about to fall into. The police ignore him completely, thanking Endeavor for solving another incident with zero casualties. Izuku introduces himself politely to Hawks, who says he already knows them all as Fumikage told him about them. When Izuku asks about his classmate, Hawk replies that he is back at his Agency in Kyushu with his sidekicks since he is busy in other matters and unfortunately cannot be with him. Annoyed by Hawks' intervention, Katsuki claims he was faster than him.

The Encrypted Warning
After Endeavor finishes with the police, he wonders why Hawks was there without a notice, to which Hawks deflects the question completely before promoting the Meta Liberation War book. Outwardly, Hawks gushes about how popular the book is and how relevant Destro's ideology is, but inwardly Hawks apologizes for being so vague, because due to the listening devices in his wings, he is unable to tell Endeavor anything directly about the Paranormal Liberation Front's growing threat.

Hawks knowingly contradicts what he said back in Kyushu by saying positive things about Destro's autobiography, in hopes that Endeavor will catch on. Hawks gives him the book asking him to make sure he reads it well. Endeavor notices that there is something off about Hawks' expression while he is offering him the book.

Seeing how Japan's No. 2 hero recommends the book, Izuku wanted to read it too, so Hawks gives him, Shoto and Katsuki extra copies that he carried with him, while saying that he has also recommended the book to friends, and other Heroes. Before leaving, Hawks suggests to Endeavor that he should at least glance over the sections he marked. Izuku and Shoto are impressed that despite being only 22, Hawks has a very different perspective from them. For Katsuki, however, Hawks ticks him off.

Once at his agency, Endeavor locks himself in his office to read the book Hawks gave him, leaving the three students with the "Flaming Sidekickers". One of them, Burnin, explains to them how things work there and tells Shoto that he won't get special treatment for being Endeavor's son. Izuku notices that the place is busy, and another sidekick called Kido explains that's because they handle hundreds of requests and jobs every day, thanks to the No. 1 Hero status. Katsuki wants to start now, but Kido tells that they have to wait for Endeavor's orders.

In his office, Endeavor realized something was off from the way Hawks was acting compared to before. He knows Hawks has a layback attitude, but when he gave him the book, he presented an uptight and serious face. Once he picks up that Hawks was faking, Endeavor decides to read the highlighted sections that Hawks specifically recommended to him.

Endeavor slowly deciphers the clues and figures out Hawks’ encrypted message, in which he warns him about the threat of the Paranormal Liberation Front and their plans to attack within four months. Remembering a conversation he had with the Madam President, who asked him to help students to gain experience fighting Villains, Endeavor finally understands what he has to do.

On the other side, Burnin tells the students that, since Endeavor only wanted to train his son Shoto, Izuku and Katsuki probably will work with the Sidekicks. This upsets Katsuki, because he wanted to work with Endeavor. Deku tries to calm him down, but Shoto agrees with Katsuki and says he'll talk to his father about it. At that moment, Endeavor leaves his office and tells all three students that he will train them personally.

Paranormal Liberation Front's Plans
While all this happens, Hawks flies back to the base of the Paranormal Liberation Front, putting his hope for Endeavor to understand the actual message. Hawks laments that he has to do things so convoluted to warn Endeavor about the menace that the Paranormal Liberation Front represents and their plans, but he has no other choice because there are numerous heroes allied with the criminal organization, and his wings are full of Skeptic's spying devices.

Once at the base, Hawks reunites with the lieutenants of the PLF in the meeting room to report. Hawks informs them that he has been spreading the ideology of liberation. He also tells them that the commission still believes that the League of Villains consists of just few members in hiding, and they still haven't noticed the Liberation Army. Similarly, they are still investigating what happened in Deika City, but army soldiers are doing a good job hiding the truth. Finally, he informs them that the training of the next generation has begun.

Skeptic uses Hawks' last comment to segue to the three trainees who are with Endeavor, and shows footage of the fight against Starservant captured by his gadgets on Hawks' wings to the other lieutenants through their personal screens. The former members of the League are surprised to see that one of the trainees is Izuku. Seeing the performance of the interns, Dabi claims they have not improved much, to which Hawks points out that they are still students.

Re-Destro congratulates Hawks for his work and orders him to leave. Hawks obeys without questioning, but without the rest noticing, he leaves one of his feathers behind allowing him to listen to the conversations of the lieutenants. He hears that Tomura Shigaraki will obtain a new power within four months, and once he does, the PLF will be ready to attack and destroy everything.

Meanwhile, in Daruma Ujiko’s secret laboratory, the doctor prepares to perform an operation on Tomura. Before starting, Daruma reminds him that he has the power to disintegrate everything with his evolved Decay Quirk and asks why he still seeks for more power. Tomura replies that Daruma had promised him more power if he met his requirements, so now he is willing to claim his due.

Continuing with more sincerity, Tomura tells Daruma that despite its power, his Quirk is not infallible and there is always the risk that the enemy survives his attack, just as Re-Destro did during their fight. Likewise, he cannot use the full power of his Quirk whenever he wants, since he ends up being affected by his own decay, as his right arm full of scars shows. Tomura wants to use everything he has at his disposal to obliterate the dregs All Might left behind.

Daruma likes Tomura's proclamations and explains that all the research he did was for All For One's sake. Years ago, he wrote the "Quirk Singularity" theory, according to which, generation after generation, the Quirks become more powerful and harder to control, and someday they will reach a point where it would be impossible to control since the human body doesn't evolve quickly enough to keep up. Nobody took his theory seriously except All For One, whose many Quirks posed a serious issue for him.

Daruma warns Tomura that with the operation he will suffer a hellish pain for next four months. But, once it is over, he will become incredibly powerful, more powerful even than AFO. Daruma states specifically that it will put One For All within his grasp, the same Quirk that Tomura's master could never obtain for himself.

Back at the Paranormal Liberation Front hideout, Hawks continues to carry out his covert operation to gather intel on the villains: their plans, their strategies, anything that can help. However, he is impeded by constant supervision and is not allowed to enter certain areas. The president of the Detnerat Company congratulates him for his work in spreading Destro's ideology, while Twice asks Hawks to explain him the contents of the book because he didn't get it.

Hawks thinks back to Dabi underestimating the boys based on their performance against Starservant, and Hawks silently thanks him for doing so, reflecting that he made the right move stealing their glory. Hawks believes that the new generation of Heroes is stronger than ever, and that they will play a great role in the fight against villains.

The Second Hero Work-Studies Begins
In Endeavor Agency's gym, Endeavor wants his trainees to talk about themselves and what they want to achieve, to know them better. Izuku says he wants to be able to control his power and use it with maximum performance. Endeavor recalls that he has a super-strength Quirk that is powerful but self-destructive. Izuku replies he has found a method to control it enough to not injure himself, but recently his Quirk has "manifested" in a different way and unleashes a small wisp of his Blackwhip Quirk to show to Endeavor.

He explains that that's the best thing he can do right now, and even that requires intense focus to control its power, because otherwise it'll overflow and end up going wild. He wants to use this new power as a weapon and has been thinking about applying some of the concepts of his Air Force on it, and to help Endeavor to better understand what he wants, Izuku gives a very lengthy and detailed explanation of how his Air Force works and what he wants to achieve with his Blackwhip. Burnin, as well as Shoto and Katsuki, have a hard time understanding Izuku's verbiage, but surprisingly, Endeavor actually follows what Izuku's saying and what he wants.

Endeavor recalls the conversation he had with Izuku, before his battle against Shoto in the tournament of the U.A. Sports Festival. When Endeavor looking at Izuku, he empathizes with him since he's someone that has a Quirk, comparable to All Might's in terms of raw power, that's able to hurt himself, and tells Izuku that he is like them. Izuku is confused by his words. Then Endeavor asks Katsuki what he wants to achieve, and he replies that his Explosion is already a powerful Quirk and he has a great mastery with it, and he just wants to find out what it is that he lacks in order to surpass the No. 1 Hero.

Endeavor concludes the presentations and wants to start the training already, but Shoto tells him that he didn't ask him what he wants to achieve. Annoyed, Endeavor asserts that Shoto's goal is to master Flashfire Fist, but Shoto is straight up with his father about what he thinks. He talks about how he always resented him and used his ice side in battle but ended up acting exactly as his father wanted. But Izuku and Katsuki have opened his eyes and he already knows what he wants to be.

He proclaims that he only came to Endeavor's agency is to use him and learn from him, but his true inspiration is All Might. He makes it clear that he still has not forgiven Endeavor, and tells him to stop trying to act like a father figure with him in front of his friends. Endeavor grieves at Shoto’s words. He thought Shoto was finally starting to forgive him, but it is clear that he completely mistook his son's intentions. After accepting this, he decides to start the training.

Endeavor goes out with his three interns. He tells them that the heroes are governed by three fundamentals: Rescue, Evacuation and Battle. Most of Hero Agencies are established of a foundation of either "Rescue" or "Battle", but in his agency he tackles all three. They should know their surroundings perfectly to detect the slightest disturbance, being the fastest to reach the scene and keep the damage to a minimum by keeping all civilians as far way as possible. With his training they will make these processes their M.O. Endeavor ends the lesson by telling Izuku, Shoto and Katsuki that, during the winter break, their task is to show him that they can defeat a villain faster than him.

During the following days, the three students try to surpass Endeavor's test, but the veteran hero always manages to catch the villains before them. One day, while chasing a villain, Deku recounts his progress with One For All since the beginning, and how the continued use of Full Cowling has allowed him to activate it unconsciously, to the point that it becomes a second nature for him. Now, he must hurry to master the other six Quirks of the One For All.

The three students are chasing a hit-and-run motorcyclist through the alleys. The villain tries to escape but Endeavor cuts off his escape route with his Quirk and apprehends the criminal. While his sidekicks take care of the villain, Endeavor tells his trainees that they are slow. Katsuki tries to justify himself by pointing out that his power takes longer to activate in the winter. Shoto asks Katsuki if he has noticed Endeavor's technique, and an annoyed Katsuki asks him what he thinks he noticed before him. Shoto tells that the reason why Endeavor is so fast is because shoots fire out off his feet to dash. Katsuki replies that the Flame Quirk use as a rip-off of his Explosion Move.

Once his sidekicks take care of the villain, Endeavor leaves immediately to continue his patrol, being followed by the students. This teaches them that they must be ready to go at it all by themselves. Don’t stop at one trouble, keep going and going. Endeavor instructs them that, although sometimes they can receive help from others, a Hero have to learn to do everything on his own. Then he puts down Katsuki on his excuses for every time he’s being criticized, saying that excuses like his previous one don’t matter when he fails to save people. He accentuates this point by saving some people from being run over by a truck.

After this, Endeavor assigns Katsuki and Shoto to work on their power. They must pick between learning to unleash maximum output for just a second or focusing their powers. Once they choose one option, they have to practice it repeatedly until they can do it without thinking.

During a break, Endeavor asks Deku if he is able to max his output for a second subconsciously. Deku replies that with the Full Cowling he has no problems, but with the Air Force he still needs focus. Endeavor tells Deku to forget about his “secondary” ability for now and focusing only on using Air Force. When Deku asks about the parallel processes, Endeavor replies that everyone does that every day without even realizing, and uses a passing driver as an analogy. The driver was not born knowing how to drive a car, but received instructions of the individual steps to do so (steering, accelerating, braking, checking behind and ahead, etc…) until he was able to do them all at once without even thinking. Therefore, Endeavor advises him to learn to do two things at once subconsciously, and when he succeeds, throw in another thing.

Endeavor informs the three students that U.A. is where they acquired knowledge, but it will be during their Work-Studies with him where those lessons will really take root in them. They can make all the mistakes as they need to during the process, because regardless of whether they succeed or fail, they couldn't have even the slightest impact on his work.

One week after they have started their work study, Endeavor gets a call from Fuyumi. She wants to organize a big dinner at the Todoroki Abode for everyone, including him, his trainees and Natsuo. This makes Enji reflect on a recurring dream he usually has, a dream in which he sees his wife and children happily sitting around the dinner table, but he is not with them.

Meanwhile, training continues. Deku, Bakugo, and Shoto stay with the Flaming Sidekickers at Endeavor Agency, which has lodging facilities. The next morning, the three are called by Burnin, who asks them how much they have progressed and if they have already captured a villain faster than Endeavor. Shoto replies that they almost succeeded yesterday, but he may have thought they will surpass Endeavor today. Seeing their rough state, Burnin realizes their efforts were put to the highest degree. Although they haven’t meet Endeavor’s expectation, they have grown stronger and more confidence in their abilities.

That morning, the trio of trainees constantly try to outdo Endeavor, who manages to catch a villain and return their stolen cash to the rightful owner. While patrolling and protecting the streets, Enji has another internal monologue that he only approaches his family as a hero, not as a father, and yet his daughter Fuyumi shares his hope that they will all reconcile with each other and become a real family. Endeavor thanks his daughter for all the support she has given him. After this, he orders his trainees to move on.

Dinner at the Todoroki Abode
At night, Enji takes Shoto, Izuku, and Katsuki to his daughter's dinner at the Todoroki Abode. Katsuki begins to complain about the situation, asking why he is there. Shoto tells him that his sister wants to meet her friends, to which Katsuki tells her that she was wrong, and advice to Shoto to tell his family that they’re not friends. The heroes enter and Fuyumi introduces herself to Izuku and Katsuki before the five of them and Natsuo sit around the table to eat dinner.

Izuku praises the food Fuyumi made, to which Natsuo says that Fuyumi has been doing all the cooking ever since their maid hurt her back and retired. Fuyumi then reveals that Natsuo also used to do some of the cooking as well, which surprises Shoto. Natsuo then clarifies that since he over-seasoned the food, Endeavor might not have served it to Shoto. The tension builds between father and son, while Deku and Katsuki watch with awkward and concerned expressions. Fuyumi tries to lower the tension, and Enji apologizes for not knowing the full situation about Natsuo's cooking before, but Natsuo abruptly finishes his dinner, thanks his sister, and leaves, still unable to sit near his father.

While the others are cleaning up, Izuku asks Katsuki if he knew about Shoto's past, at which point Katsuki reveals he was listening when Izuku and Shoto were talking during the U.A. Sports Festival. Fuyumi tells Shoto that she understands how Natsuo feels but at the same time, they have a chance to make things better. When she asks what Shoto thinks of their father, Shoto remains conflicted. He considers him responsible for the scar on his face, since it was his abuse that led his mother to hit him with the teapot during a breakdown, an action she instantly regretted. While he says he can't forgive him that easily, he acknowledges that his mother is trying to move on, but he himself is unsure.

Just then, Katsuki and Izuku come in, with Katsuki berating the Todoroki siblings for displaying their family drama in front of guests and ruining the evening. Fuyumi apologizes for that, while Izuku apologizes for overhearing their conversation. Despite the awkwardness, Izuku gives his opinion on Shoto’s dilemma, as he thinks he is preparing to forgive his father but just waiting for the right moment to do so. Katsuki discovers that Natsuo is lingering in the hallway, listening in on this conversation.

Enji also overhears Izuku's words and walks into another room to put a plate of food on the Butsudan Buddhist altar in their home. He once again asks himself what he can do for his family and looks at a picture of his eldest son Toya Todoroki, wishing he was there.

Unbeknownst to everybody, a villain known as Ending has been watching over Endeavor's Home the entire time. He is an ex-convict who was apprehended by Endeavor seven years ago, and ever since then he has been obsessed with the Flame Hero. Ending believes that the only equal right all people have is how they choose to end their lives and that after he got out of prison, he immediately snooped into Endeavor's background and found his home. He resumes his goal of wanting to be killed by Endeavor. When he sees Natsuo leave the abode, he sets his plan in motion, injecting himself with a drug to boost his Whiteline Quirk, and uses his empowered abilities to capture Natsuo.

Meanwhile, inside the Todoroki home, Fuyumi and Shoto tell Izuku and Katsuki about their deceased brother, Toya, and how close he was to Natsuo. The incident happened shortly after Rei was hospitalized, further affecting her fragile mind. Although over time, Rei managed to start accepting Enji again, Natsuo still blames their father for Toya's death. This makes Katsuki understand why Natsuo had such a gloomy face in the hallway earlier.

Endeavor then enters and tells the three of them that he'll be taking them to school. As the three of them thank Fuyumi for the meal, Endeavor thanks Fuyumi for her suggestion, which makes her smile. Fuyumi then thanks Izuku for being Shoto's friend.

As the four of them ride in the car, Endeavor insists his interns report to work at least two weekdays each week, in addition to the weekends, if their school schedule can be arranged to allow it. Shoto mentions Ochaco and Eijiro going through something similar and Izuku comments that they also need to study for finals. Katsuki complains about how small the car is, which annoys Untenmaru Kurumada, Endeavor's chauffeur. He asks why Endeavor is acting out of character by giving the students a ride, and is dumbstruck when Endeavor claims that it's due to him now being No. 1.

Suddenly, right in front of them, they see something in the middle of the road, which ends up being Ending. He holds Natsuo hostage using the road's lane lines, of he manipulates with his Quirk, and challenges Endeavor to come out and face him.

The Attack of Ending
Utenmaru quickly swerves the car and maneuvers to avoid running over Ending. When he stops, Endeavor immediately leaps out the vehicle right before it ends up wrapped in the villain's Quirk, igniting his flames in an instant. He demands Ending let Natsuo go.

Ending asks if Endeavor remembers throwing him in jail seven years ago. Endeavor does recall defeating him and even remembers who he is, which makes the villain happy. Ending tells the Flame Hero that he looked up to him, as he had so many things he wanted but could never have, and since he never had anything to protect, he wishes to control his own demise and threatens to murder Natsuo to make sure Endeavor kills him. Ending points out that while heroes aren't supposed to kill villains, Endeavor killed the High-End Nomu Hood, which isn't quite dead or alive. Ending claims to be the same as the Nomu in that regard, so it shouldn't be a problem for Endeavor to kill him.

Just as Ending tells Endeavor to not hold back, Izuku, Katsuki, and Shoto break out of the binded car with the road lines. Using a device of the vehicle, Untenmaru ejects at them their hero equipment. Each of the three boys dons their support items and heads into the fight. Ending takes a step back when he sees the interns while begging Endeavor to kill him properly. This gives the Flame Hero an opportunity to attack the off-balance villain. However, he is unable to act when he sees the terrified face of his son. Because of Endeavor’s hesitation, the three students bypass him and take the action from there.

Shoto charges after Ending, only this time, he uses his Quirk's fire the way Endeavor had shown him: focusing on a point, building up, and then releasing for a more powerful attack. He easily destroys the road lines Ending attacks him with while demanding the villain release his brother. Ending continues to beg for death and uses his Whiteline Quirk to toss cars from the street in the air, threatening to increase the death toll if the Flame Hero doesn't kill him quickly. He also puts Natsuo directly in the path of a car, but Katsuki successfully condenses and releases his Quirk at a single point to launch himself at full speed at Ending, retrieving the restrained Natsuo while declaring that there will be no corpses if he can help it.

As Izuku sees all the cars on the road flying, he uses Delaware Smash Air Force to jump into the air, above all cars falling. Recalling to what Endeavor said about using the Quirk one step at a time, he successfully unleashes Blackwhip, saving all the cars while yelling that he won't let any of Ending's wishes come true, thus proving that his internship with Endeavor bore fruit. The shocked Ending is then struck by a fire-covered punch from Shoto. As Endeavor embraces Natsuo (and an annoyed Katsuki), grateful that his son's life is safe, he remarks internally how in one week, his trainees have progressed this much, allowing them to save a life.

Katsuki escapes Endeavor's grip and asks what happened to the villain. It turns out that, after his attack, Shoto managed to apprehend Ending by freezing him in his ice wall. The villain wails that he was defeated by a student since he wanted Endeavor to kill him. Izuku checks the drivers to make sure they are okay and claims to the other two that this was a complete victory for themselves. Katsuki points out to Endeavor that the three of them fulfilled the task he gave them at the beginning of the Work-Studies about defeating a villain faster than him. Endeavor congratulates the boys and thanks them for having covered for his mistake and saving Natsuo.

As Natsuo breaks free of Endeavor's grasp, Endeavor reveals that he stopped to think in that moment fearing that if he were to save him, then Natsuo would never speak to him again. Endeavor then confessed that he never meant to neglect him and Fuyumi all those years, but acknowledged that he failed to take responsibility by running away from them. He also acknowledges that he feels it's his own fault for Toya's fate. Natsuo tells his father he doesn't care, for he heard everything from Toya growing up and declares he will never forgive Endeavor, because he doesn't see himself as kind as Shoto or Fuyumi.

Endeavor responds by saying that Natsuo still came out for Fuyumi and Rei's sakes and that he was trying to respect the feelings of his sister who is trying so hard to fix the family that Endeavor broke, signifying that Endeavor sees Natsuo as kind enough. Endeavor then states that despite his efforts to fix his mistakes, he accepts the possibility that he can never forgive him for his negligence towards his family and the damage caused. Accordingly, Endeavor's fine if Natsuo doesn't forgive him, because he's not looking for it, he just wants to atone for his mistakes. A teary-eyed Natsuo tells him that Fuyumi had been so happy lately, but every time he looks at his father, he thinks of everything in the past. He questions why he has to be the only one to try and proactively change and what exactly will Endeavor do to atone.

Seeing Endeavor engage in an apologetic tone to his son, deeply upsets Ending. He interrupts their dialogue, protesting that Endeavor should be his more arrogant self, or else his light of hope will vanish. The police eventually arrive where they state Ending used a drug to enhance his Quirk, while noting that they have been decreasing in numbers on the black market. Untenmaru tells Endeavor to watch himself for this was the second person who tried attacking him the past few days, commenting that the darkness in society never fades, but Endeavor counters that the light doesn't fade either.

Enji's Decision
As Natsuo thanks Izuku and Katsuki, he asks Katsuki what his Hero Name is. When Izuku questions if it's just "Bakugo", Katsuki denies it, revealing that he's picked a Hero Name for himself. Izuku and Shoto ask what it is but Katsuki refuses to explain, instead wanting to tell someone else first. Endeavor watches this and comments internally how good Hawks' eyes really are.

After returning home with Natsuo, Fuyumi frantically asks if Natsuo was okay after getting attacked, to which he tells her that Shoto and his friends saved him. Endeavor reminds Fuyumi about the home she is trying to build for their mother to return to free of worry and how all he could do was rely on her. He then declares his plan to build a new home for them and their mother Rei to live in once she's out of the hospital. When Fuyumi questions what he'll do, Endeavor reveals he intends to stay at the abode and live alone, because he realizes it will only cause his family pain to have him around after what he's done, being determined to prioritize their happiness over his own.

Story Impact

 * The Hero Work-Studies resume for the students.
 * Shoto Todoroki invites Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya to take their Work-Studies under Endeavor which they accept.
 * Fumikage Tokoyami returns to Hawks' Hero Agency, though Hawks is absent at this time.
 * Eijiro Kirishima and Tamaki Amajiki rejoin Fat Gum's Hero Agency, with Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu joining.
 * Ochaco Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, and Nejire Hado return to Ryukyu's Agency.
 * Tenya Ida goes to work for Manual.
 * Kyoka Jiro and Mezo Shoji go to work for Gang Orca.
 * Denki Kaminari, Hanta Sero, Minoru Mineta, and Ibara Shiozaki go work for The Lurkers.
 * Koji Koda and Manga Fukidashi go work for Wash.
 * Momo Yaoyorozu and Setsuna Tokage go work for Majestic.
 * Mina Ashido, Yuga Aoyama and Toru Hagakure go work for Yoroi Musha.
 * Mashirao Ojiro, Rikido Sato, Jurota Shishida and Nirengeki Shoda go work for Shishido.
 * Neito Monoma and Pony Tsunotori team up.
 * Yosetsu Awase and Hiryu Rin team up.
 * Kinoko Komori and Shihai Kuroiro team up.
 * Togaru Kamakiri, Sen Kaibara and Kosei Tsuburaba team up.
 * Juzo Honenuki and Yui Kodai team up.
 * Itsuka Kendo and Reiko Yanagi team up.
 * Kojiro Bondo goes with a glue tube head hero.
 * Yo Shindo and Tatami Nakagame of Ketsubutsu Academy High School team up.
 * Eri's horn continues to grow.
 * Best Jeanist is seemingly killed by Hawks.
 * Hawks has listening devices planted on him by the Paranormal Liberation Front.
 * Starservant warns that Endeavor will cause the world to fall into darkness.
 * It is revealed Toya Todoroki is seemingly dead.
 * It is revealed that Katsuki has chosen his Hero name, but he still refuses to reveal it.

Characters Introduced

 * Aorio Kuraishisu
 * Burnin
 * Ending
 * Shishido
 * Starservant
 * Untenmaru Kurumada

Quirks Introduced

 * Unnamed Glass Manipulation Quirk: A Quirk belonging to Starservant that allows him to control and mold glass freely.
 * Blazing Hair: A Quirk belonging to Burnin that gives her fire-like hair that she can pull off and throw at enemies.
 * Whiteline: A Quirk belonging to Ending that allows him to control road's lane lines and markings.

Trivia

 * The anime arrangement has this arc before the Meta Liberation Army Arc.

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