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 Hero Work-Studies back in effect, the three top students of Class 1-A study under the new No. 1 Pro Hero. Meanwhile, the fire-powered Hero 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 ask 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.

For this reason, in late December, all of Katsuki's footage were cut off entirely in the official broadcast, which infuriates him. Some of his classmates, like Hanta and Denki, laugh off at it, especially since the finalized interview's run-time on air turned 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 the latter.

When the broadcast of the interview ends, Izuku checks on the daily news. They talk about the incident in Deika City occurred nine days ago, according to 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 society's response to this devastating event.

The reporters also show society's response to this devastating event, and rather discouraging heroes as no good, they were seen as bright and trustworthy, supporting them to do their best. 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, accompany of Midnight. The students are surprised to see the 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, being clueless on reading the mood or intention with some of Mt.Lady questions. Mt. Lady asks Shoto to show one of his Super Moves. Shoto starts off by unleashing his trademark attack Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall and explains about its many uses. Kyoka and Toru Hagakure wonder about Shoto's other moves but the latter mentions that he desires to reach the same level as his father.

Fumikage Tokoyami wonders if the students should reveal their special moves during interviews. Mt. Lady assure that it has its own value; one in which can grasp the attention of many, villains included. It’s why they have to do super moves to show off and reassure the citizens that they will be safe. Shota adds that not only did Mt. Lady change but also every hero out there are trying their best to show who they are. With that being said, everyone's interviews turn out fine student after student. Katsuki ends up flopping his interview with his explosive behavior. Midnight and Shota agree that Katsuki is better off following his path instead of interacting with the media.

The last interview goes to Izuku, who gets so nervous that his body turns all stiff and edgy. Eijiro mistakes this for the former being able to use Hardening just like him. Mt. Lady decides to stop Izuku's stuttering by mentioning that many of his moves are throw-back to All Might's. With this, Izuku excitedly goes on to talk about his dedication to following All Might's steps but Midnight questions about his newly developed Blackwhip Quirk. Izuku decides to demonstrate 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 beign 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. Toshinori 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 inform him that the next round of 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 has been involved in the Deika City Incident, and surmises 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. Then the principal asks him if he's will return to the U.A. that day. Toshinori replies that if something happened to Izuku. Nezu reassures him by telling him that he apparently forgot what 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 iHero 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 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.

In 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 one 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 his words 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 presence, explaining that he only accepted them because his son asked him to, and he would have preferred to intern Shoto alone. Shoto reminds the No. 1 Hero that he complain since he has accepted them regardless.

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 to stand back and watch if they want to learn. To his surprise, the three young students put on their Gears 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 itself.

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 strike the number 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 was done 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 army growing threat.

Hawks knowingly contradicts what he said back in Kyushu by saying positive things about the 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's 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 despite being only 22, Hawks has a very different perspective than them. To 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 onother sidekick called Kido explains that's because they handle hundreds of requests and jobs every day, thanks to the Number One 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 have a layback attitude, but when he gave him the book, he presented an uptight and serious face. Once he gets the idea Hawks was faking, Endeavor decides to read the highlighted sections that Hawks specifically recommended to him. In doing so, Endeavor is slowly deciphering the clues and figured out Hawks’ encrypted message in which he warns him about a threat of the Paranormal Liberation Front and their plans to attack within four months.

Remembering then a conversation he had with the Public Safety Commission 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 is with Katsuki and will talk to his father about it. At that moment, Endeavor leaves his office and tells 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 PLF 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 that the training of the next generation has begun.

In saying this, Skeptic points to the three trainees who are with Endeavor, and shows on the screens of his companions the footage of the fight against Starservant that captured by his gadgets on Hawks' wings. The former members of the League are surprised to see that one of the trainees is Izuku. On the other hand, seeing the performance of him and Katsuki, Dabi thinks 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, to which 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. What he hears is that Tomura Shigaraki will obtain a new power, and once he does, which will be within four months, 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. So the question is, why he 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.

Responding then with more sincerity, Tomura tells 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 also ends up being affected by his 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 to the Paranormal Liberation Front hideout, Hawks continues to carry out his covert operation to find a way to obtain info 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 reflects on what is about to happen. He remembers Dabi underestimating the boys for their performance against Starservant, and Hawks thanks him for doing so, considering 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 he already has a powerful Quirk and 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 already determined that his goal is to master the Flashfire Fist but Shoto is straight up with his father about what he thinks. He talks about how he always resented him and uses his ice side in battle but actually ended up acting exactly how his father wanted him to. But Izuku and Katsuki have opened his eyes and he already knows what he wants to be. He proclaims that he only comes to his agency is to use him and learn from him, but his true inspiration is All Mightn, ot him, and makes it clear that he still has not forgiven him.

He also 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.

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 apparently 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: A Quirk belonging to Starservant that allows him to control and mold glass freely.
 * White Line: A Quirk belonging to Ending that allows him to control road's lane lines and markings.

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