WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter #303, “Top Three” by Kohei Horikoshi, Caleb Cook and John Hunt, available now in English from Viz Media.
Chapter #303, “Top Three,” of My Hero Academia concludes Endeavor’s 'guilt trip' storyline, and in the process, gives rise to a more pressing issue: the discovery of One For All's true nature. Hawks is known for his detective's insight, and now that he’s caught a whiff of One For All, he can’t let that small detail get past him.
Previously, he overheard Shigaraki -- All For One's current user -- use his new power's namesake while battling Endeavor, so the number two hero decides to confront the current number one hero about it. At first, Endeavor is unsure but after connecting the dots, he leads Hawks to Deku. This is very dangerous. Hawks is currently going down a path that might cause more harm to the hero world than good should he expose what One For All truly is. What are the potential effects of the news hitting the public, and how it would change the current narrative of My Hero Academia's wanton destruction?
Let's examine the potential positives first. Hawks’ sudden interest in One For All is making the current arc's chaos even more stressful, but maybe like Bakugo, he too can keep the secret of the power to himself. One For All is an important asset for the heroes, even without them knowing about it. At the moment, it seems like Hawks is trying his best to clear Endeavor's name, but if and when he finds out about the truth of the power, will his overall plan change? Hawks is one of the few heroes who can keep a secret -- few known about his own history, after all. Potentially, Hawks could be a valuable resource in uncovering hidden truths about One For All, and maybe even discover a way to defeat All For One.
But will Hawks agree with All Might’s decision for passing the power down to Deku? Is it fair that a power as immense as One For All be left up to the wielder alone in deciding its next successor? So far, each successor has been unsuccessful in defeating All For One, meaning that the past wielders might have been worthy of a biased choice, but not ready to be a proper vessel for One For All. When dealing with a walking calamity like All For One, if there has been a way to defeat him from the beginning, this knowledge should have been accessible to the heroes to better their chances in defeating the villain overlord.
Once Hawks puts the pieces together, he could put more blame on All Might as opposed to Endeavor for the current destruction in My Hero Academia, and the shift in the hero-villain status quo -- not necessarily because he is an Endeavor fan, but simply because the One For All secret is too great to keep from those who are truly trying to save society. All Might’s failures have now fallen on the shoulders of Endeavor, and that spills over to the other heroes, too, meaning that they all have to pay for the price of All Might’s shortcomings.
Just like the conversation about Mirio inheriting One For All, that same conversation is inevitably going to be brought up again due to the current state of things. In the wake of the violence that has unfolded, a new symbol of peace is needed more than ever, and some of the current heroes might want to have a say in who they deem worthy of carrying the torch of One For All. With Endeavor’s public address, the fall of heroism and the potential reveal of what One For All is, everyone is being pressured out of their comfort zones, creating a rift from within that will make the heroes disagree with one another.
What emerges from the conversation is a top three hero team-up: Endeavor, Hawks and Best Jeanist (who is also present during the hospital conversation). This alone means the future is looking somewhat promising, but things have not been set straight. All Might is going to have to build trust amongst the new top three heroes and prove to them why Deku is a worthy vessel for One For All. More importantly, Hawks is going to have to be convinced that the reason for keeping One For All a secret was worth all the recent pain and destruction.
