"So I'm not going with? Shouldn't I be taking every opportunity to get into UA?" Izuku asked, flexing his cramping hand as he walked off the training mat. Recovery Girl beckoned him towards her. "It feels odd that you're making me skip the recommendation exam."

After realizing Izuku hadn't manifested super strength as expected, most of All Might's training equipment was deemed not useful and as such had been moved out to make room for a sparring area and other equipment that would be more useful for training Black Whip.

Sir Nighteye had insisted that the All Might memorabilia be moved out posthaste before they do any training, and while Gran Torino had complained that would take another day, Izuku had refused to train.

He would regret that later that day when Gran Torino made him run suicides up and down the incomplete training area as punishment for disrespecting his elders. Although all was better when Sir Nighteye secretly awarded him with a signed limited edition Silver Age poster for his bravery. It was now the main center piece on his bedroom wall.

Since One for All had been transferred to Izuku, All Might had no use of the equipment himself, as any training would just drain what was left of his reserves. After his match against Endeavor two months ago, he'd realized that despite measuring the left over energy feeling like a measuring an ocean, that ocean drained alarmingly quickly when he wasn't watching himself.

"No." All Might confirmed. "I want to avoid as much evidence connecting you and me as possible, and there's already that one police record from a while back."

"Plus, this way you get another four months to fix this bad habit you have with holding back." Gran Torino muttered.

"I still don't think it's me." Izuku said, his hand tingling pleasantly as Recovery Girl gave it a light kiss. The stiffness he was beginning to develop from his training earlier on in the week nearly disappearing along with the pain in his hand.

Ever since the time Black Whip freaked out, Izuku's never had any problems again with controlling it, almost as if the quirk itself was co-operating with him. Not that he had mastered it, more that it was just much easier to make it do what he had in mind, almost like he had developed an instinct for it.

The issue was, this sudden increase in control, was accompanied by a sudden decline in the amount of power he could wield within the quirk itself.

If it was co-operating with him in some ways, when it came to turning up the power, it was as if it was actively fighting against him, to the point of causing painful cramps in his hands if he pushed too close to the ceiling of what his quirk seemed to be fine with. Even when it was levels of power his body had been able to handle in the past.

"Regardless of the cause." Sir Nighteye spoke up, eyes scanning Izuku's hands as they healed. "It'd be wise for us to see if we can rectify this. Black Whip as it is right now is still rather good as far as quirks in your generation. But 'rather good' isn't going to cut it for the UA entrance exams this year, not with all the attention Nezu's gotten because of his spectacle. You need to be exceptional."

"So why don't we just focus on improving my control?" Izuku asked.

"Bah!" Gran Torino barked. "That's exactly what we don't want to do. Everyone else have had their quirks for more years than you've had yours in months. You won't be impressing UA with good control unless its bloody exceptional, and we don't have time for that."

Izuku looked at All Might who shrugged.

"He's right," All Might said, crossing his arms. "It's better to wow them with raw power. The teachers at UA won't immediately understand the upper limits of your quirk's strength, but they'll see potential in a powerful quirk. Control can be refined later, but power is what grabs attention." He sighed and puffed up into his muscular form.

"In any case," he added, turning towards the doors. "I should get going. Best to arrive early so I can be present for the parents arrival."

"Bye All Might!" Izuku waved, with All Might waving behind his back as he left.

"Train well, Young Midoriya! You're doing great!"

As soon as the doors closed, Midoriya got a light tap on his foot from Recovery Girl.

"Go drink some water, your lips are too dry." She commented, and he nodded, jogging off in the direction of the on-floor bathrooms.

As soon as he was out of earshot, she turned to Sir Nighteye. "And? What did you see?"

"The hell do you mean, what did you see?" Gran Torino asked. "You had him snooping on the kids quirk?"

"Do you think I asked him to be here for the pleasant conversation?" She snapped. "No offense, Sir Nighteye."

"Non taken, I'm well aware there's little Gran Torino and I can see eye to eye on." He said, a slight hint of a smirk on his face at his double entendre of a joke.

That everyone else ignored.

"Well?" Recovery Girl asked, and Sir Nighteye pressed his glasses up.

"It's intriguing, to say the least, although I have zero clue what it could mean other than what we already suspect." He said. "The energy of One for All is mostly active around his hands, and when he uses the quirk, it looks like the energy flows from his core to his hands. Though its far less energy than the last time I saw him use it, its as if One for All is only letting a certain amount of the energy out."

"This matches the readings on my machines." She said. "What about when he tries pushing the quirk past that?"

"The core sends more energy, but it looks more...erratic." He said, "How about your readings?"

"Similar, though I couldn't tell it was erratic, all this shows me is that it's the quirk acting and not Izuku doing it himself."

"So it's like the quirk gets angry when he pulls on too much energy and then tries to shut it down?" Gran Torino asked. "Is the quirk trying to protect him?"

"I've been thinking that's the case." Recovery Girl answered. "It might also be why it didn't manifest as super strength. This might be the first time One for All has a host who can't handle its strength right out the gate."

"So it evolved to accommodate his body?" Sir Nighteye asked. "I wonder if this would have happened if he had a quirk? Perhaps him being quirkless allowed One for All to set its own rules?"

Gran Torino snorted. "So the quirk's at least partly alive then?"

"I wouldn't say that." Recovery Girl answered. "Quirks act in weird ways, so we tend to describe certain actions with intent, but it might just be a biproduct of how the quirk has always worked, we just never noticed because the only two cases we've seen in person are Toshinori and Nana."

"We should probably do some more digging on the past users then." Gran Torino said, looking at Sir Nighteye who shook his head.

"I don't have the time to go poking around files that old." Sir Nighteye responded. "My current investigations priority. Or would you rather we know everything about One for All in exchange for an underground trigger dealing operation to run free across the whole country."

"It'll help us understand his quirk better, train him better." Gran Torino argued.

"So? You used to be a hero, you know how to investigate." Sir Nighteye responded, but then lifted his head towards the bathrooms as Izuku came out. "Better yet, involve Midoriya. It'd be a good exercise for training investigative techniques that might help him in the entrance exam. You know how thorough UA is at sniffing out potential beyond just smarts and brawn."

Hopping from rooftop to rooftop gave All Might an interesting view of the city. It wasn't the same as flying, but it was far more revealing than being on the ground.

From above, Tokyo stretched out in a patchwork of buildings from different eras. Scars from the century of chaos following the dawn of quirks were still visible—some areas healed by time and community efforts, others untouched and frozen in history. Meanwhile, sleek, spotless developments radiated from central Tokyo, their influence fading as they reached the edges of what was once a metropolis, and now a slowly healing ghost town.

The sight filled All Might with mixed emotions. Pride swelled in him, seeing how far they'd come since his youth. But it was tempered by the realization of how much work remained before Japan wouldn't have to see the constant reminders of their pain. He'd once hoped to fix things himself, had poured what little of his life wasn't taken up with huntingthat maninto rebuilding what his country had lost. He had hoped his mission would be accomplished before stepping down. But Nezu was right, he should trust that there would be someone else who will be able to handle things when he's gone.

As he left Tokyo behind, the wilderness between the city and Shizuoka came into view. A breathe of fresh air compared to the depressing outskirts of the capital city.

All Might kept his quirk empowered leaps small, taking time to appreciate the quiet serenity of nature while avoiding damage to the land. The way he saw it, this land had suffered enough from quirks.

From above, the scars of past battles were still faintly visible—a crater filled with water here, a clearing in the trees there. Hard to notice for those on the ground, but from the view All Might had, it was clear the land bore a history of violence. Nothing reflected this truth more than Mount Fuji.

The dormant volcano loomed over him as he closed the distance towards it. He was too young to have seen it during it's heyday, but even now it was impressive. Only when it had been impressive for it's beauty, today it was impressive for it's ugliness. A massive scar had ripped itself into the side of the mountain, the waterfall of lava that flowed out from the misshapen maw had solidified, like rock vomited over the landscape.

From what All Might understood, a little more than a decade before his birth, a battle on its peak between Destro and unknown enemies had resulted in this scar carved into the rock, which had triggered an eruption, nearly drowning the tourist town of Gotemba in molten lava. The disaster had been averted by a mysterious man, a hero by all accounts, who sacrificed their life to redirect the lava.

The efforts of this man had earned him a monument in the gardens surrounding Might Tower. All Might only regrets not knowing the man's identity, as now the plaque of his statue held no name.

This history reaffirmed All Might's beliefs about Destro's ideology. Unrestricted use of quirks would only lead to untold destruction.

As he passed Mount Fuji, he increased the strength of his leaps, the sprawling landscape of Musutafu coming into view. From here, the construction site of UA stood out like a beacon, large areas of flat ground carved out of the nature around it with the help of quirks. The sheer scale of it astounded him—practically a small city in its own right, adding a fifth to Musutafu's land area.

This, to All Might was a testament that quirks held as much potential for good, as it did evil.

Landing on the outskirts of Musutafu, he leaped upwards again, taking in the beauty of Surugu Bay as he moved towards the school. Though his contemplative state of mind was interrupted as he heard a panicked yell from below. Thrusting his arms forward to halt his momentum, his eyes scanned the ground for the origin of the sound, and sound found it.

It appeared as if a villain was being confronted by two heroes All Might didn't recognize, and if his eyes didn't decieve him, the large pink skinned mutant was holding hostages. Feeling an urge to help, he reached downwards, prepared to turn his slow fall into a divebomb strait onto the villains head.

Only he stopped, his gut swirling with the feeling to let things play out as they were, redirecting his fall to allow him watch from about a block away, close enough to get involved if necessary.

Mt. Lady hissed in frustration as the villain slipped away again. She hated dealing with power types that didn't get their strength from their size. Her strength wasn't superhuman; it was only proportional to her size. Against someone with both sizeandsuper strength like this brute, she had to push herself further, to sizes that approached her limits.

Not ideal in the middle of a crowded urban area. Her growing to full size wasn't just dangerous—it was embarrassing. She'd look like she was fumbling around for lost contacts instead of subduing a criminal. Not a great look for someone who trained under a literal ninja.

Still, Kamui Woods couldn't handle this alone either. His wooden appendages could only slow the villain down. Musutafu was a city, but it wasn't a large one, and the pool of heroes who weren't basically glorified sidekicks was small. And the two she thought would be really useful right about now weren't available—Death Arms was across town, and Takeshita was glued to mall patrol—so it was up to them..

Watching the pink skinned villain turn around a corner, she sized down to gain some maneuverability, though quickly pivoted as she realized there were no places for Kamui to grapple. Without hesitation, she sized up again, sticking her out to the side.

"Here!" she yelled. Kamui didn't need more than that. He grabbed her arm, swinging around the corner with momentum.

"Stop, villain!" Kamui shouted as he launched forward, but his eyes widened in horror. The brute had swooped up a family off the sidewalk, their panicked yells drawing more panicked looks from bystanders.

"No, you stop!" The pink man yelled as he turned towards the hero, who reacted by extending his arm into the tar below and pulled himself to the ground, halting his momentum, holding his hands up as he landed.

"Hostages? Oh you scumbag!" Mount Lady roared as she turned the corner.

"Oh I'm a scumbag alright! But a scumbag who gets to stay free another day!" The villain yelled. "See this lucky little family? Come after me and I'll snap their necks! Got that? Stay back, heroes!"

Both heroes froze, and the villain's smug grin widened as he began to run—straight down the open road instead of into an alley.

"Psst, Kamui," Mt. Lady muttered, a smirk creeping across her face. "How about that new move?"

Kamui stiffened. "Absolutely not. He has hostages!"

"I'll knock him out."

"And if you don't? They're dead!"

"Are you saying you'd miss a shot on a target that big?"

"…No."

"Then let's do it, you wuss."

Kamui groaned but extended his wooden arms toward her. "Fine."

Mt. Lady bent down to grab him, her grin widening. "Ready?"

"Ready," he muttered, tightening his grip as she wound her arm back, raising her leg like a baseball pitch.

"MINI—" she yelled, launching him forward.

"ARBOR!" Kamui shouted, his arms extending taut. As Mt. Lady shrank down to her regular size, she let him pull her forward like a slingshot.

"TREBUCHET!" she yelled as Kamui hurled her through the air.

The concept was simple: by combining their quirks, they transferred her throwing momentum into his pull, launching her with greater force than she could ever hope to launch herself. It was a risky move, and when done wrong often ended with bruised fingers filled with splinters, but they'd practiced it enough to perfect the timing.

Soaring toward the villain at a speed that would certainly shatter her legs at her current size, Mt. Lady used her quirk to her advantage. As she neared, she grew to her maximum size, reducing her velocity by increasing her mass.

She raised her leg, a massive axe kick poised to strike.

"INTO… RAVINE GUILLOTINE!"

The villain turned too late. Her heel crashed into his head, burying him waist-deep in the pavement. The hostages flew forward, landing on the ground with a thud but otherwise unharmed.

Kamui rushed to their side while Mt. Lady stood triumphantly over the unconscious villain, a satisfied grin on her face.

"See? Told you it'd work."

Kamui shot her a glare. "You're lucky itdid."

"Luck had nothing to do with it." She winked before bending over to pluck the villain from the pavement. "Now let's this guy to the nearest police precinct."

A smile lit up All Might's face as he saw the two heroes finish up the job without his help. They might be a few years older, but they were definitely part of the same generation of heroes as Young Midoriya. Seeing how they handled definitely gave him the impression that they were reckless, but that would be tempered with age and experience.

What was clear, was that they were capable. Capable enough for him to trust them to handle things without his help.

His chest swelled with pride, but only for a moment before he remembered his own destination. Checking the time, he tensed his legs.

With one powerful leap, All Might launched himself skyward, disappearing into the horizon.

Unbeknownst to him, a figure on the ground had been watching the villain arrest closely with a pre-arranged camera crew, but had been distracted as she'd seen him land moments earlier, and now her curiosity was piqued. Why would he just watch and not get involved?

He was heading to UA. She knew he was associated with them now, but what was he specifically busy with?

She adjusted the strap of her bag, a plan already forming in her mind.

She was Curious, and she just had some questions.

"All Might!"

A frustratingly familiar figure met him at the gates of UA, red wings unmistakable even from a mile away. "You're late!"

"Hawks, I believe you're early," All Might replied as he landed. His smile widening in false cheer at the cocky grin plastered on the younger hero's face.

All Might pushed passed him, walking briskly down the paved walkway of the UA gardens towards the main office building. Hawks fell into step beside him, his casual saunter somehow keeping pace with All Might's longer strides.

"Indeed. Thought I'd switch things up—trade my 'fashionably late' brand for a surprise appearance. Imagine my shock whenyoudecide to switch up your brand of arrivingjuston time. You're not slowing down on me now, are you?"

"Ha!" All Might chuckled. "No, just got distracted on the way here. Old men like me can get sentimental, you know?" He cast a sideways glance at Hawks, his tone light but his gaze sharp.

Hawks' golden eyes flicked to All Might's frame—not casually, but the same analytical way he had done before. He wasn't even bothering to hide the fact that he was checking if the Number One Hero still had One for All, trying to spot if All Might's figure had lost any muscle. He hadn't, at least not according to the keen eyesight of his sidekick, and he doubted the number two hero could outmatch Sir Nighteye at his own game.

"I see," Hawks said simply, his usual humor absent for a fleeting moment.

The silence stretched as they climbed the stairs leading to the front reception, Hawks letting All Might lead the way. When they reached the main entrance, the bustling scene before them fell silent.

Parents and children crowded the front lobby, some clutching forms and others engaged in quiet conversations. They all turned as the two biggest names in the country walked into the room. Even a few of the hero sponsors stopped what they were doing to gaze at them, All Might was a hero, no a legend, to even seasoned heroes, after all.

All Might had grown accustomed to the looks of wonder he inspired over the decades, though for some reason, something felt off.

"With how some of these kids are looking at us, I think I should probably give up the name 'Hawks'" The bird hero joked, and All Might nodded in response. He had to agree.

Among the wide-eyed wonder, he caught the piercing looks of quite a few individuals—all from the young applicants. More of these looks were thrown in Hawks direction than his, but there were several who were eyeing them both up as they approached the reception. Their eyes didn't simply hold admiration; they held hunger. A drive that didn't just want to follow in their footsteps, but to surpass him.

"Climbers eyeing the peak," Hawks remarked, but All Might shook his head.

"Not just climbers,"he corrected. "Future mountains in their own right."

"You're late."

Eraserhead's glare greeted All Might as he entered the observation room.

"Acute observation," All Might replied dryly, taking a seat.

"Oooh~ The Number One Hero's almost as cranky as you today, Eraserhead," Midnight teased, earning an exasperated glance from her colleague.

"Forgive me. I just finished dealing with Hawks, so my patience has worn thin," All Might admitted, nodding to Eraserhead.

The underground hero's expression softened slightly. "Understandable."

"Hawks? That guy's so chill, though," Present Mic remarked, his voice crackling through his support gear, giving it a robotic edge.

"Not my experience," Vlad King grunted. "I'm sure Eraserhead's dealt with him more, but I've had my share of headaches, and that's enough for me."

Midnight shrugged. "He's fine. Except when he's trying to get in my pants—but he's not the first up-and-comer to try that."

"Doesn't mean you should get used to it. RUFF!" Hound Dog growled.

The conversation around All Might continued as he picked up the list of applications. All reading his coworkers would have done already, and he would need to make sure he glanced over it before the tests began.

The students' names held little significance to him—they were just names for now. Instead, he focused on the sponsors, letting his eyes scan the list for anything that stood out.

Several powerful corporations had backed applicants, likely relatives of high-ranking executives or business allies. While All Might trusted Nezu to ensure fairness in the selection process, a small knot of unease twisted in his chest regardless. The potential for influence, however slight, was always troubling.

He moved past the corporate sponsors and onto the hero-endorsed applicants. The list seemed ordered by rank, which explained why Hawks' name came first.

Hawks had submitted a candidate, Setsuna Tokage. All Might's brows furrowed. He had no doubt Nezu was fully aware of Hawks' ties to the HPSC, and the implications of allowing one of their protégés into UA. It wasn't just about talent; there was history—unresolved history tied to Lady Nagant, Nezu would likely jump at the chance to help her in the ways he failed last time. Even if he wasn't one, the principle could be extremely human sometimes.

His eyes moved to the next name: Nirengeki Shoda, sponsored by Best Jeanist.

Farther down, a block of names appeared under Gang Orca. The quirks listed alongside these applicants—mutant types, almost exclusively, there seemed to be one transformation quirk—reflected Gang Orca's loud an proud approach to pushing for more mutants in heroics. Considering that the HPSC no longer had the power to artificially limit how many UA took in, meant this was Gang Orca's opportunity to stir the pot.

He kept reading, stopping occasionally when a name caught his eye.

Then his eyes stopped.

Endeavor.

The name alone made him pause, a pang of unease creeping up his spine.

Shoto Todoroki.

He hesitated before looking at the quirk description. A part of him almost didn't want to confirm it—wanted to continue to deny that another quirk that could rival One for All existed. But he forced himself to read, and his eyes widened.

Quirk Classification: Emitter/Orchestrator Hybrid (Type 1-A)
Quirk Name: Half-Cold Half-Hot

Description: Half-Cold Half-Hot allows the user to generate ice from one side of their body and fire from the other. Overuse of ice risks frostbite, and overuse of fire risks overheating. However, these drawbacks negate each other when both sides of the quirk are used in tandem, granting the user extended quirk usage and potentially unparalleled power compared to single-element quirks.

Endeavor wasn't kidding, this kid must be a powerhouse.