History#
At least seven years ago, the Pro Hero O'Clock requested the Police Force to help him in his operation to investigate the Underground Masquerade, a clandestine fighting event that took place in Osaka, where Quirk-upper drugs were also trafficked, and there were also knowledge of some fighters missing.
Eizo Tanuma and a small Police Force surrounded the building where the illegal event took place, and the detective asked if he wanted him and his boys to raid the place, but the Pro Hero replied that there is no point in that. O'Clock explained that his target is not the event itself, but rather the drug trafficking that occurred there. He had knowledge that the fighters are using quirk-boosting drugs and he was heading there to secure some evidence.
Eizo realized that the police were there to secure an escape route for him after he did what he needs to do there. O'Clock asked if he has any more questions, and the detective said only one: "What's with the Five O'Clock Shadow?" The hero just smiles and took off saying he has to look the part. Resigned for not getting an answer, Eizo relayed the new orders.[1]
O'Clock infiltrated the event and obtained the evidences he needed, but the situation got complicated when All For One, the person behind the Underground Masquerade, decided to steal some Quirks and released a gas that made all those who breathe it lose control of their Quirks and go on a rampage. Eizo was waiting outside the Underground facility, telling the rest of the backup to standby until O'Clock returns, when he noticed the gas from inside starting to make its way out the door, wondering what's going on down there.
In order to escape, O'Clock teamed up with two fighters, The Rapper and Tiger Bunny, and devised a plan to get out of there, including a plan B in case they had to face an unexpected threat. They put the plan into motion, and when they almost reached the exit, a mysterious hooded individual sent by All For One appeared to stop them.[2]
Since they could barely handle him, O'Clock ordered execute Plan B: while O'Clock and The Rapper hold the Hooded Man, Tiger Bunny busted her way out of the building, as the backup police look on in confusion. She called for Eizo, giving him the message from O'Clock, to call All Might.[3] Eizo agreed, and quickly activated the All Might Emergency Paging System, sending a request for help to the Might Tower. All Might immediately suited up and blasted off to help immediately.
All For One was also aware that All Might's help had been requested, so to buy time and steal the Quirk from O'Clock, he used his powers and Kurogiri's help to transform several of the Underground Masquerade assistants into enraged Villains. Outside the parking lot, Eizo, Tiger Bunny, and the police officers suddenly noticed a mob of the fighters that that began to rampage out of control, forcing them to fight them off. Tiger Bunny protected Eizo from one of them, kicking him away. Several of this Villains made their way onto the streets, terrorizing the civilians, forcing everyone to flee.[4]
Eizo tried to reorganize the Police Forces and prepared to call for more backup, in order to hold the Villains for as long as possible until All Might arrived. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long. All Might appeared, and in the blink of an eye, he defeated all the Villains, rescuing civilians and accomplishing several other tasks at once. Then, Japan's number one hero asked the stunned detective if the little crisis is over yet. Eizo replied with a no, and explained to him the situation inside the parking lot. All Might immediately went to help O'Clock and his allies, but when he arrived, The Hooded Man was no longer there, as Kurogiri had rescued him with his Quirk to avoid losing him at the hands of All Might.[5]
The next day, while the police were investigating the place where the Underground Masquerade had been held, he talks to O'Clock about what happened. The hero is concerned because in the mission an unexpected interference had appeared to stop him that had forced him to recruit a pair of accomplices into the field. Eizo asked for more information on the interference and accomplices, but O'Clock wanted to keep investigating first, knowing how crafty the mastermind behind the everything is. Eizo then asked if he's being cautious, with O'Clock responding that he needs to be prepared for more than just that, before running off again.
Eizo continued to inquire everything related to the Underground Masquerade, until he considered the investigation was completed and the case was closed. Eventually, he would be one of the few to know about the confrontation between All Might and All For One,[6] and later O'Clock losing his Quirk to the Villain.[7]
Summary#
Vigilantes Beginnings Arc#
Along with his partner Naomasa, Eizo is dedicated to investigate the "Villain Out-Break Incidents", a series of events related to the Trigger distribution that has caused several Instant Villains outbreaks in Naruhata. After interrogating one of the dealers and several consumers, Eizo deduces that there must be an organization behind the drug distribution through the streets.
Since Trigger is not a cheap subtance, he is confused as to why the dealers would hand Trigger out for free. Based on their actions, he believes that the mysterious organization couldn't care less about financial side, they no seek economic benefits but a goal on a much greater scale, although still he does not know what it is.
After interrogating one of the former Instant Villains, Teruo Unagisawa, the police decide to let him go. Eizo advises Naoamsa to follow him, in case he is lucky, and leads him to those who provided him with the Trigger. Unfortunately, the Villain Kuin Hachisuka causes a sudden out break of Instant Villains by injecting Trigger into several innocent people, and takes advantage of the chaos to take Teruo away, while the Heroes suppress the outbreak.[8]
Days later, due this sudden Villain outbreak, Eizo organizes a meeting with several of the Heroes who helped to stop this. However, due All Might's tendency to run off in a hurry to carry out his activities as a Hero, it is impossible to schedule a meeting that would work for him, so he sends his partner Naomasa to the Might Tower to know of All Might's opinion. Just in case he is not able to meet with All Might, Eizo recommends Naomasa to meet up with "Toshinori Yagi", from All Might's Secondary Clerical Office. In actuality, Toshinori is All Might's secret identity as a result of his injuries from the All For One fight, and Naomasa takes on the job as All Might's liaison to handle his paperwork: a job Naomasa suspects Eizo intentionally hoisted onto him.[9]
At the police station, several Heroes arrive to participate in the meeting. Eizo explains to them that the Instant Villains were normal citizens who have been forcibly injected with the drug Trigger. The hero Endeavor understands that what he means is that they are more victims than Villains, so he suggests that the Heroes pay their medical bills, and make sure the media they tread lightly when reporting this.
Eizo states they not only want that, but also make sure that the Heroes do not rush when it comes to facing an Instant Villain, in case it is another innocent person. Endeavor considers his request ridiculous and argues that any public use of a Quirk is illegal and that they should treat them as Villains and let the police investigate the backgrounds of future captures. Endeavor get more enraged with Eizo's continued hesitation and tells him to go ask for All Might's opinion.
At that moment, Naomasa arrives with a statement from All Might declaring that he will assess the situation at the scene more carefully because as Heroes they should try to keep the innocent citizens out of harm's way. The other Heroes agree with that statement, while Endeavor is left literally burning with rage once the meeting ends.[10]
Team Ups Arc#
Weeks later, Naomasa leads a police operation to dismantle Trigger's main illegal import route. The route is dismantled, but the Villain responsible, Number 6, manages to escape after destroying all the evidence, and leaving the entire Police Force badly wounded with his Quirk.
When analyzing the recordings of the security cameras, Eizo suggests that the Villain must have an acceleration-type Quirk. This gives Naomasa the idea to investigate the old hero known as O'Clock, who had a similar Quirk and thinks he may have some kind of connection with the Villain.[11]
After this, Eizo secretly meets with the Vigilante Knuckleduster, O'Clock's current secret identity. Knuckleduster gives him important data about the importers of Trigger in Japan, which makes the police investigation progress remarkably. For his part, Eizo informs him that the police had an encounter with a Villain with a Quirk that they suspect is O'Clock's Overclock. Knuckleduster assures him that he does not know who this Villain is, but he advises Eizo that if the police encounters that criminal again, they should not hesitate and shoot to kill.[7]
Sky Egg Arc#
Days after the Sky Egg Bombing, Eizo and the police are investigating a dilapidated building near where the incident occurred. They ignore what could happen, but when obtaining clues and blood samples, they deduce that at least two people were involved in the collapse of the building.
Naomasa informs him about the results of the blood samples recovered from the place. One corresponds to the former hero O'Clock, while the results of the second sample came back inconclusive as they found his blood type and DNA was mixed with a number of other chemicals. Eizo, who led the Trigger investigation and knows the truth about Knuckleduster, questions if "the thing they're chasing" is even human.[12]
Final Performance Arc#
A few years later, there is a new incident in Naruhata caused by Pop☆Step, who had been kidnapped and transformed into Bee☆Pop by Number 6, the Villain responsible for the incidents related to the Trigger years ago. Fortunately, she was stopped by The Crawler and his allies Soga Kugisaki, Moyuru Tochi, and Rapt Tokage, who rushed her to a hospital, where the parasite bee that controlled her was removed.
After this, The Crawler disappears and Soga, Moyuru, and Rapt are questioned by Naomasa to tell them everything about The Crawler and Pop, due to the atypical circumstances, but neither says anything about it. Soga asks him to bring in Detective Eizo to speak with, which Naomasa complies.
Eizo enters the interrogation room, and tells Soga that he knows about his involvement with Trigger a few years back. Eizo notes that Soga has a different feel to him compared to back then, reminding him of a "certain ally", grabbing Soga's attention, and brings up an analogy about socks that their common ally told him about. Eizo chuckles at the analogy, and later lets him and his friends go.
Naomasa is bewildered that Eizo let the thugs go, while the latter says that it's better to pit troublesome people like them against actual Villains. As the three former Villains walk away, they see Naomasa and Eizo looking down at them, but they continue walking away. Naomasa tells that he will continue watching them, as well as The Crawler, while Eizo nonchalantly pokes fun at his uptightness.[13]
Underground Masquerade Arc#
Eizo finds officer Sansa working at his desk, asking about Naomasa, which Sansa replies that he went back to the hospital. He also informs him that he was able to uncover some information about the hospital as he had requested him and it turns out that two years prior to the secure ward was constructed, the hospital had been receiving generous donations by a man who goes by Takeshi Kuroiwa, who Eizo is aware is one of Knuckleduster's aliases. Sansa goes on and says that benefactor holds several positions on several companies and non-profits, but there aren't many public details about him.
Eizo knows who he is talking about and thanks Sansa for the information. The officer asks him about the envelope he brings with him. Eizo says that it is an case in which he participated years ago, and that there is something he wants to check. The case is that of the Underground Masquerade,[1] where he assisted O'Clock in his investigation of the traffic of Quirk-Boosting drugs and ended up on a rampage that needed the assistance of All Might.
Sansa goes to get a cup of coffee, and Eizo asks him to bring him another one too. Now alone in the office, he finishes reading over the report, about how the Underground Masquerade ended up being connected to the "worst of all villains", All For One, and how it was supposedly resolved in the secret showdown between him and All Might. He then starts to think about how similar the Instant Villain cases in Naruhata, followed by the rise of the Next-Level Villains, the Sky Egg Incident, and Bee☆Pop's attack, are to it, believing that the Villain Factory is connected to the Underground Masquerade, with possibly the same mastermind.
His thoughts are interrupted when a young officer who works in the police station archives asks him if he can check the files he just signed out, since apparently there has been a problem with the paperwork he had submitted. Eizo agrees although he asks him to return them as soon as possible, because he's using the information to connect the Underground Masquerade case to the Naruhata Villain Outbreaks.
To his shock, the officer blows up the files in front on him, telling him that making the connection would cause far too much trouble. An astounded Eizo demands to know who is he, but the fake officer uses a Detonation Quirk to destroy everything inside the office. The fake archivist, who is Number 6 in disguise, leaps out, satisfied that he was able to erase every trace and clues of the past.[6]
Naruhata Lockdown Arc#
One year later, Eizo is seen alive and well after surviving and recuperating from Number 6's cover-up and attempted murder, enjoying his time fishing.[14]