Forest Training Camp Arc

The School Trip Arc is the eighth story arc in Boku no Hero Academia and the eighth story arc in the Yuuei Beginnings Saga.

Yuuei's first semester has ended and summer break has begun; Class 1-A go on a school trip to a training camp under the supervision of the Hero Team The Pussycats.

The Hero Incident
The Police Force arrives at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall after Ochako called them. The Police Force temporarily close down the mall in order to find Tomura Shigaraki along with the local Heroes. However, the Police Force and the local Heroes could not find Tomura. Naomasa Tsukauchi takes Izuku to the Police Station to be questioned by him about the event that transpired. The event occurring between Izuku and Tomura has been named “The Hero Incident”. As a result of The Hero Incident, the Police Force created a special task force in response to the Villain Alliance’s actions.

At the Police Station, Naomasa questions Izuku about Tomura and their conversation. Although the information Izuku provides is nothing new, Naomasa thanks Izuku for the information and praises Izuku for being level headed during his confrontation with Tomura; The Police investigator is glad with Izuku’s actions because collateral damage was kept to a minimum and no lives were lost.

Outside the Police Station, All Might greets Izuku and Naomasa; he apologizes to Izuku for not being there. Thinking about his conversation with Tomura, Izuku asks All Might if there were times when he failed to save someone. All Might tells Izuku that there were many times hecouldn’t save someone; All Might modestly admits that he is only human and cannot save everyone. All Might notes that his title, the Symbol of Peace, serves to inspire people and Heroes to play their roles so that more people can be saved. Izuku’s mother arrives to pick Izuku up; Izuku comforts his crying mother, telling her that everything is fine. After Izuku and his mother leave, Naomasa theorizes that Tomura will probably target other students and decides that Hero schools must exercise more caution and become more proactive in implementing counter measures against villains. Naomasa advises All Might that leaving Yuuei is also an option, but All Might decides against it. Naomasa concludes their conversation by saying that they will capture All For One this time, to which All Might agrees.

The next day at Yuuei, Shouta informs Class 1-A that the destination for their lodge trip has been changed and the new destination will only be announced on the day of the event. The first semester has come to a close and summer break has begun.

On the day of the forest lodge trip, Class 1-A and 1-B prepare to board buses. After Neito fails to mock Class 1-A due to Itsuka, Class 1-A boards a bus that will take them to the forest lodge destination. On the bus, Shouta tries to inform his students that the bus will be stopping in one hour intervals. However, Class 1-A are fooling around and pay no heed to their teacher. Shouta decides to let their behavior slide and notes that their days of fooling around are numbered.

Class 1-A's School Trip Begins
An hour later, Class 1-A’s bus stops for a restroom break. However, Class 1-A notes that Class 1-B isn’t at the rest stop. Suddenly, two females wearing cat-like costumes and a small boy appear; the females excitedly introduce themselves as the professional Hero Team, The Pussycats. The black haired female explains to Class 1-A that they will be staying at the base of a mountain which is a part of their domain; they have three hours to reach the base of the mountain using their Quirks as they please and those who don’t arrive there by 12:30 pm won’t be served lunch. Soon, Class 1-A realize that they have already arrived at their destination and their training camp has already begun with the Pussycats being their supervisors. Some of Class 1-A try to leave, but Pixiebob uses her Quirk to create a landslide of dirt that causes Class 1-A to fall into a forest called Forest of Magic Beasts, which they must traverse to reach their destination. Suddenly, Class 1-A are confronted by a beast; Kouji tries using his Quirk to control the beast but it does not work due to the beast being made out of dirt. Izuku, Shouto, Tenya and Katsuki mobilize and use their Quirks to destroy the clay beast.

The black haired female notes that the training camp he has organized has been well thought out; Shouta attributes it to the fact that the increased number of villains has forced the first years to take the accelerated year course (usually reserved for second years) so that they have the skills and knowledge to fend for themselves. Shouta lets the Pussycats handle the beginning portion of Class 1-A’s training camp and leaves. The Pussycats decide to head back to the mountain base; however, the small boy is unenthusiastic.

After Izuku, Tenya, Shouto and Katsuki destroy the dirt beast, Class 1-A begins traversing the Forest of Magic Beasts. However, the journey through the forest to the Cabin takes around about 8 hours. Class 1-A arrive at the facility, battered and tired. It is now 5:20 pm in the evening. Pixiebob admits that she thought they would take longer to get to the facility; she praises Class 1-A for figuring out her Earth Beasts quickly and easily. Pixiebob then commends Izuku, Tenya, Shouto and Katsuki for taking quick action against one of her Earth Beasts and concludes that they have experienced action against villains.

Kouta's Past: The Disillusioned Youth
Izuku then asks about the boy, Kouta and wonders if one of them is his mother. Mandalei explains to Izuku that Kouta is her nephew and asks him to say hello to Class 1-A. Izuku introduces himself to Kouta. Suddenly, Kouta punches Izuku in his crotch and begins walking away. Tenya goes to check on Izuku and admonishes Kouta for his actions. However, Kouta harshly replies that he doesn’t want to be with people who want to become corny Heroes. After Kouta walks away, Shouta instructs Class 1-A to fetch their luggage from the bus and put in their rooms. After doing so, he tells them to go to the dining hall for dinner and afterwards, take a bath and relax. Shouta tells Class 1-A that their training begins tomorrow morning.

After fetching their luggage and putting it in their rooms, Class 1-A head to the dining hall and have dinner; they enjoy the delicious food that the Pussycats provide them. After finishing dinner, Class 1-A go tothe hot springs for a bath, one side for males and another side for females, which is divided by a wooden wall. On the boys’ side of the bath, Minoru notes that the bath schedules for the males and females have overlapped and as a result, the females of Class 1-A are also at the hot springs. Tenya demands Minoru to restrain himself. However, Minoru is unable to contain his desires and begins scaling the wall to look on the other side. As he reaches the top, Kouta appears and pushes Minoru down, reprimanding Minoru for his perverted behavior; Minoru curses Kouta as he begins falling back down. The females of Class 1-A thank Kouta for stopping Minoru; Kouta accidentally looks at the Class 1-A females and falls into the males’ hot springs from shock. Izuku catches Kouta using One For All Full Cowl.

Izuku brings the unconscious Kouta to the cabin’s office who has passed out from the fear of falling. In the office, Mandalei thanks Izuku for being there to help him. Izuku notes that Kouta doesn’t like the concept of Heroes and explains that he along with many others grew up in an environment where they wanted to become Heroes; Izuku is surprised that Kouta has a jaded view on Heroes. Mandalay explains that there are people in the world who don’t like Heroes and if Kouta had a normal upbringing, then he would have grown up to idolize Heroes as well. Pixiebob arrives and tells Izuku that Kouta’s parents (who are Mandalay cousins) were once Heroes who lost their lives on the job. Pixiebob explains that two years ago, Kouta's parents, the Water Hose, sacrificed themselves to save civilians from a villain and as a result, they were hailed as true Heroes. However, Kouta was devastated by the deaths of his parents and believed they had abandoned him to focus on their jobs instead, which caused Kouta to begin resenting Heroes and Villains. After his parents deaths, Kouta went to live with The Pussycats, doing whatever Mandalay and Pixiebob asked him to do  Upon hearing Kouta’s backstory, Izuku is reminded of his encounter with Tomura and his similar resentments towards Heroes; Izuku begin to understand that not all people have the same opinion.

Quirk Training
The next day at 5:30 AM, Class 1-A are outside the training camp cabin. Shouta greets his students and tells them that they will undergo reinforcement training and explains that the training camp’s purpose is to strengthen their Quirks which will allow Class 1-A to obtain their temporary licenses. Shouta tells Katsuki to perform the pitch from the Quirk Apprehension Test. Katsuki throws his pitch; however, Katsuki’s pitch records at 709.6 m, which is a minor increase from his last pitch. Some of Class 1-A are surprised with the lack of difference with Katsuki’s new pitch as they were expecting it to be immensely higher. Shouta explains that Class 1-A have gained much experience and definitely have grown, but the growth has only been emotionally and technical. Shouta tells Class 1-A that it is now time to focus on physical growth; he notes they have now realized from Katsuki’s new pitch that their Quirks have improved only a little. Shouta declares that from today onward, they will be focusing on upgrading their Quirks.

Class 1-B arrives at the Pussycats' cabin where the training camp is taking place. Class 1-B's teacher, the Blood Hero Blood King, informs his class that they will improve and upgrade their Quirks by pushing their Quirks to the limit which will make their Quirks stronger. Class 1-B then witness Class 1-A training; many from Class 1-A are pushing their Quirks to the limit in unfavorable conditions in order to strengthen their Quirks such as Katsuki using Explosions in boiling water. Some students from Class 1-B doubt if they, along with Class 1-A, can all be trained and supervised all at once. The Pussycats (the entire team) consisting of Mandalay, Pixiebob, Ragdoll and Tiger introduce themselves and their Quirks to Class 1-B. Tiger asks any student with simple power augmenting Quirks to go to him. Izuku is seen stretching and Tiger asks Izuku to attack him; Izuku uses 5% Detroit Smash but Tiger is able to dodge Izuku's move effortlessly. Tiger retaliates by punching Izuku and notes that his muscle fibers have not yet teared. Shouta explains to Class 1-B that the Pussycats have large area-of-effect Quirks that can help and train dozens of students all at once, saying that it is the best way of advancing everyone's Quirks in a short span of time. Tiger encourages Izuku to push his Quirk to the limit; Izuku gets up and understands that it is up to him now to discipline and train his body in order to use more of One For All's power. Izuku begins stretching his body vigorously again while Tiger encourages him further. Behind a tree, a silent Kouta is watching.

Later that day at 4:00 PM, Pixiebob and Ragdoll provide Class 1-A food materials and tell them that they must make their own food from now on. Tenya sees this as survival skill training and motivates his class to start making curry. Class 1-A begin making their own curry; Mina asks Shouto to make some fire, causing Momo to remind everyone to not rely on someone else otherwise they won’t learn how to make food on their own. Shouto decides to help Mina anyway and lights a fire for her. After finishing their cooking, Class 1-A decide to eat their curry. Watching from afar, Kouta notes that their training is a waste of time and leaves; Izuku sees Kouta while walking back to his class.

Kouta's Hatred: Evil Makes Its Move
On a cliff, Kouta is sitting alone. Suddenly, Izuku approaches Kouta with a bowl of curry, surprising Kouta. Izuku offers the curry to Kouta after surmising that he didn't have anything to eat, having managed to find Kouta due to his footprints; Kouta harshly tells Izuku that he doesn’t want any of his food or company and demands that he leaves.Izuku notes that Kouta's parents were the water-type Quirk users, the Water Horses; Kouta is infuriated that Izuku knows about his parents and surmises that Mandalay told him. However, Izuku tells Kouta that he knows their names after hearing about them. Izuku offers his condolences, but Kouta doesn't take heed of it. Kouta expresses his contempt for the current society of Heroes and Villains as well as for their usage of Quirks, angry that they only use Quirks to inflict violence. Feeling sympathetic towards Kouta's circumstances, Izuku tells Kouta a story about a Quirkless boy who rejected the reality of not having a Quirk; Izuku explains that the moral of the story is to accept reality as rejecting it only hurts one even more. Kouta becomes infuriated and orders Izuku to leave. Izuku leaves the curry on the ground and apologizes, then walks away.

Meanwhile, a few kilometers away from the training camp, Dabi and Himiko along with two masked villains appear. One of the masked villains demands that they attack immediately. However, the other masked villain calms his compatriot as it is not time yet. Dabi tells his fellow villains that they are just sending a warning signal. Dabi notes that the Heroes will fall for the sake of a brighter future.

Himiko expresses her dislike for the equipment’s design she is wearing, but one of the masked villains inform her that the equipment functioning properly and purpose matters only. The other masked villain is still restless and desires action, causing Dabi to order his fellow villains to be quiet and that they will only attack when all ten of them are together. Soon, three other villains show up with one of them apologizing for arriving late. Dabi informs his fellow villains that the success rate of their job depends on their experience which they all have. Dabi informs them about their first attack which will show the Heroes that their peaceful lives are at an end.

The next day which is the third day of the lodge trip; it is the afternoon and Class 1-A along with Class 1-B are undergoing their Quirk strengthening training. Shouta is instructing Mina, Hanta, Rikidou, Eijirou and Denki in their training. Shouta gives advice to the remedials on increasing the power of their Quirks; Shouta then scolds Ochako and Yuuga to train harder since they passed their tests by the skin of their teeth. Shouta tells Class 1-A to not forget their fundamental drive as that will help them improve and progress. Izuku asks Shouta if any more teachers will come to the lodge; Shouta replies that they only came with the minimum amount of personnel needed to help with Class 1-A and Class 1-B’s training and as such no more teachers will be arriving with Ragdoll noting that they had All Might stay away due to him being a target. Pixiebob changes topic and informs the students that tonight they will be playing a game; a test of courage.

That evening, Class 1-A and 1-B are cooking themselves dinner. Shouto asks Izuku what he wanted to talk to All Might about; Izuku replies that he wanted to talk to him about Kouta. However, Izuku sees that Kouta is not around and surmises that he went back to his secret base. Izuku tells Shouto that Kouta doesn’t like the idea of a superhero society with Quirks and is unable to help him out with words. Izuku asks Shouto for advice. Shouto tells Izuku that words alone will not help Kouta since he would find reasoning from strangers to be pretentious. Shouto advises Izuku to tell him about what Heroes are doing and the help Heroes will bring to humanity. Shouto tells Izuku that he believes that action speaks louder than words. Izuku becomes encouraged from hearing Shouto’s advice and knows Shouto is correct. Class 1-A and 1-B finish dinner.

Later that night, Class 1-A and Class 1-B are preparing for the test of courage. However, Shouta drags Mina, Rikidou, Eijirou, Hanta and Denki away because they must have review lessons with him. Afterwards, Pixiebob and Ragdoll explain the test of courage; the game will take place in the forest with both classes having an opportunity to be the scarers and scarees; Class 1-B will the the scarers and Class 1-A the scarees. Class 1-B must scare as many students as possible to win while Class 1-A must find cards with their names on it to prove that they went into the forest. Classes will exchange turns after fifteen minutes and the game will begin again with Class 1-A being the scarers and Class 1-B being the scarees. The class that scared more students than the other class will be the winner. The test of courage begins.

The Vanguard Action Squad: The League of Villains Strike Back
After twelve minutes, the fifth pair from Class 1-A which is Ochako and Tsuyu enter the forest. Inside the forest, Juuzou and Itsuka praise Yui for her scaring tactic. Out of nowhere, smoke appears which causes Juuzou to faint. Itsuka realizes that the smoke is dangerous and covers her mouth; then she covers Yui with her Quirk, telling Yui to not inhale the smoke as it is poisonous. Suddenly, the poisonous smoke covers the entire forest; the Pussycats and the remainder of Class 1-A see black smoke arising from the forest. Somewhere in the forest, Dabi commands the League of Villains "Vanguard Action Squad" to attack. Himiko sneaks up behind Ochako and Tsuyu. Two villains appear in front of the Pussycats and the remainder of Class 1-A; they attack and knockout Pixiebob. The Pussycats prepare to take action while Izuku realizes that Kouta is alone and defenseless.Kouta is sitting at his secret base, unaware that a villain is behind him.

Shouta takes Denki, Mina, Eijirou, Rikidou and Hanta back into the facility for supplementary lessons, intending to teach them how to conduct themselves during a crisis. Inside, the five remedials of Class 1-A see Neito, who is apparently also in need of supplementary lessons. Before the supplementary lessons can begin, Mandalei uses her Telepathy to contact Shouta, Brad and the remedials and warns them about the villain invasion. Shouta orders Brad to protect the remedial students while he heads outside to protect the students. Shouta is outside the facility and notes that the situation isn’t good. Suddenly, Dabi appears next to Shouta and smothers him in flames since he and the other Pro Heroes are not targets.

Outside the forest, the sword wielding villain introduces himself as part of the League of Villain’s Vanguard Action Squad while the other villain threatens Pixiebob’s life. Tiger prepares to take action, but the sword wielding villain tells him to back off as Pixiebob’s life is decided by Stain’s word. Tenya wonders if Stain is responsible for this; the sword wielding villain recognizes Tenya as the one who brought Stain’s terror to an end. The sword wielding villain decides to reveal his name which is Spinner. Spinner unravels his sword (a sword clustered together by dozens of bladed weapons) and declares that he is the one who will carry on Stain’s dream. Tiger criticizes the villains for scarring Pixiebob and calls their actions reprehensible; Spinner notes that Heroes don’t have the luxury of a happy life and prepares to attack. Mandalei and Tiger prepare to battle Spinner; Mandalei tells Tiger that she has left the safety of the students in Ragdoll’s hands. Mandalei tells the Class 1-A students to leave and orders Tenya to take the lead. As Tenya leads his fellow classmates away, Izuku tells Tenya to go on ahead as he informs Mandalei about the villains’ objective.

Back in the smoke covered forest,  Kendou carries Yui and Juuzou with her Quirk, trying to find a safe place. Kendou runs into Tetsutetsu and Ibara who are wearing masks. Tetsutetsu informs Kendou that Momo Yaoyorozu was nearby and made masks for them. He also tells Kendou that Awase is leading some of Class 1-A to the Class 1-B safe zone for aid. Tetsutetsu gives Kendou, Yui and Juuzou masks. After Kendou and Yui put their masks on with Yui putting a mask on the unconscious Juuzou, Kendou thinks that they should head back to the facility. However, Tetsutetsu refuses to flee and decides to stay and fight, telling Kendou to take care of Ibara. Kendou questions Tetsutetsu’s actions, to which Tetsutetsu tells Kendou why he has decided to fight; Tetsttetsu knows that the only way to become a true Hero and save people from evil is to expose themselves to danger which will allow them to grow into true Heroes and promises to defeat the villains.

Meanwhile, Kouta is confronted by the masked villain. He is communicated by Mandalei who asks him to return to the facility and apologizes for being unable to help him. The masked villain comments on Kouta’s stylish hat and wonders if the boy will trade the hat for the mask he despises. However, Kouta begins running away as the villain takes off his mask. The villain uses his Quirk to jump in front of Kouta. Kouta sees the villain’s face and becomes shocked; Kouta remembers watching the news about the villain who murdered his parents, the Water Horses. The villain has a simple augmenting strength Quirk and his most defining feature is the deep scar across his left eye left by the Water Horse duo. Kouta realizes that the villain in front of him is none other than the villain who murdered his parents. The scared villain prepares to attack while Kouta cries and becomes immobilized from fear.

Suddenly, Izuku appears and saves Kouta from the villain’s attack. Izuku analyses the situation; his phone is broken as a result of tumbling to the ground from saving Kouta and didn’t tell anyone about his location, thus he doesn’t have any way of communicating for backup. Izuku notes that his top priority is to protect Kouta from the villain since he is the only one standing in the villain’s way. With no other options available, Izuku decides to fight the villain to protect Kouta. Izuku tells Kouta to not worry because he will save him no matter what; Izuku activates One For All Full Cowl and prepares to fight the villain who murdered Kouta’s parents.

In the forest, Shouto Todoroki (while carrying an injured Kousei Tsuburaba) and Katsuki Bakugou run through the forest. Seeing that the situation is chaotic, Shouto decides that they should head back to the facility to regroup. While running to the facility, Shouto and Katsuki encounter a villain; Katsuki asks Shouto who is supposed to be ahead of them, to which Shouto answers Fumikage Tokoyami and Mezou Shouji. The villain is admiring something on the ground; a severed arm. However, the villain realizes he has work to do and cannot afford to be distracted by the severed arm; the villain turns his attention to Katsuki and Shouto.

Outside the forest, Mandalay fights Spinner. Spinner is about to strike Mandalay with his sword. However, Mandalay uses Telepath to distract her opponent, allowing Mandalay to evade. Mandalay slashes Spinner with her cat claws, injuring Spinner. Seeing his fellow villain in trouble, Kenji Hikiishi uses his Quirk to pull Mandalay towards him. Suddenly, Tiger punches Kenji which frees Mandalay from Kenji's grasp. Tiger punches Kenji again, but this time Kenji is able to block Tiger's attack. While getting up, Mandalay informs Tiger that she is unable to communicate with Ragdoll, which she considers strange since she normally answers her immediately.

Izuku Vs Muscular
Meanwhile, Izuku Midoriya prepares to fight the villain while protecting Kouta. The villain takes off his cloak and activates his Quirk. The battle between Izuku and the villain begins. However, Muscular overpowers Izuku in both offense and defense with Izuku barely being able to keep up. Izuku is shocked at the incredible strength and speed of the villain's Quirk. Izuku activates One For All Full Cowl again and punches the villain. Surprisingly, Izuku's enhanced punch doesn't do anything against the villain. The villain smacks Izuku onto the ground again and reveals that his Quirk is Muscle Augmentation which enables him to augment the muscle fibers that sit beneath his skin, granting him great strength and speed. Muscular mocks Izuku's Quirk and laughs at Izuku's pitiful strength.

Just as the villain is about to finish Izuku off. Kouta throws a rock at Muscular. Kouta asks the villain if he tormented his parents just as he is tormenting Izuku. Muscular is surprised that the Water Horse duo had a child and considers their meeting to be fate. Kouta blames the villain for his evil actions. However, the villain criticizes Kouta for trying to put the fault on him while admitting that he does not hold any grudges for the loss of his eye. Muscular mocks the Water Horse Duo for thinking that they could stop him with their pathetic power and prepares to strike Kouta

Suddenly, Izuku jumps at Muscular using One For All Full Cowl, telling him that he is the one at fault. Izuku analyzes that the villain's speed surpasses his own and the only slight chance of victory is to close their speed gaps. Izuku punches the villain with his broken arm, trapping it between the villain's muscle fibers. The villain mocks Izuku for thinking that his plan to put them in a position where speed doesn’t matter will work since his inferior strength won't save him. However, Izuku tells the villain that his job as a Hero is to put his life on the line for the sake of others; with no other choice, Izuku decides to unleash his Quirk's full power: One For All 100%.

Izuku uses One For All 100% against the villain, which blasts the villain with great force into the cliffside and also partially destroys the cliff due to the great impact. Kouta is sent flying away, but Izuku manages to grab Kouta’s shirt with his mouth and drags him back onto the cliff. After apologizing, Izuku decides that they should quickly escape while the villain is incapacitated. However, the villain is revealed to have used his Muscle Augmentation to reduce the impact of Izuku’s One For All 100%, although Izuku’s attack did injure the villain. Muscular compliments Izuku while Izuku is shocked that his full power did nothing Under stress and unable to think of a plan, Izuku tries talking his way out of this fight by asking the villain about the League of Villains’ goal. Muscular doesn't care about Izuku's question and joined the League of Villains just to have fun. Muscular removes his artificial eye with another one to show that he is being serious.

Terror of the Vanguard Action Squad's Muscular: Izuku's Unwavering Heroism!
Izuku orders Kouta to grab on to him; Izuku uses One For All Full Cowl to jump and run away from the villain. Izuku manages to avoid the villain’s first attack, but barely avoids the villain’s second strike which sends Izuku and Kouta tumbling to the cliff again. The heavily injured Izuku believes going to the facility is the best option but realizes that his speed won't be able to outrun Muscular. Izuku quickly forgets about the plan considering the grave circumstances he is in and decides that he has no choice but to defeat the villain. Izuku tells Kouta to run back to the facility as fast as he can the second he clashes with the villain. Kouta doubts Izuku’s strategy due to his attacks proving to be futile. Izuku uses 100% Detroit Smash against Muscular which keeps him at b; Izuku orders Kouta to escape while he still can but the villain considers Izuku’s struggle to be in vain. The villain begins overpowering Izuku’s attack and begins pushing him into the ground while demanding blood and death. Izuku is barely able to hold back the villain’s strength and apologizes to his mother and All Might; Izuku remembers that All Might surpassed his 100% when he fought Noumu.

Izuku is shoved into the ground by the villain. Suddenly, Kouta blasts water at the villain, demanding that he stop. However, the villain says that he will kill Kouta after he is done with Izuku. Furious, Izuku refuses to let the villain kill Kouta and begins pushing back the villain, eventually pushing the villain off him. Izuku uses 1.000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash against the villain, a powerful smack with incredible force that smashes the villain into the cliff. The villain’s artificial eye pops out and the villain becomes incapacitated due to the great force of Izuku’s attack.

Kouta is in disbelief that Izuku would go so far to protect him even though he doesn’t know anything about him, as he remembers what Mandalay told him; that one day he will understand why his parents sacrificed themselves to protect the lives of others when he goes through a similar situation. He will also understand that Heroes risk their lives to save people so that one day someone can call them “My Hero”. Kouta cries in disbelief while Izuku roars with triumph.

At the League of Villains’ hideout, Kurogiri wonders if the Vanguard Action Squad will be able to handle the mission. Tomura assures Kurogiri that they will be fine; Tomura decides that it is not time for him to reappear and begins to comment on his gameplay. Tomura realizes that his gameplay was faulty when he first attempted to murder All Might and now has decided to let his pawns take down the ones up high before aiming for the final boss. Tomura explains that he intends for the Vanguard Action Squad to make a crack in the superhuman society, noting that the Vanguard Action Squad’s endeavors at Class 1-A and 1-B's training camp will be a blow for the Pro Heroes whether they succeed or not. Kurogiri questions if the Vanguard Action Squad means nothing to him, but Tomura rebuffs Kurogiri’s claim, saying that he respects the Vanguard Action Squad’s strength and personally hopes they succeed; Tomura continues to say that while they have their differences, they can rely on each other because both he and Kurogiri are not the only ones oppressed by society’s rules.

Back at the cliff, Izuku has defeated Muscular who is now unconscious. Izuku notes that his job isn’t finished and must inform Shouta and the Pussycats about the enemy’s strength. Izuku tells Kouta that they can leave the unconscious Muscular where he is because he won’t be waking up any time soon. Izuku says to Kouta that the wildfires will be a detriment and tells Kouta that they need his Quirk. Izuku asks Kouta to use his Quirk to save them just as he saved Kouta. Izuku has Kouta jump onto his back and starts running back to the facility.

Meanwhile, Dabi has attacked Shouta. However, Shouta easily dodges Dabi’s attack. Shouta counter attacks and easily overwhelms Dabi using his Capturing Weapon and melee combat. Having apprehended Dabi, Shouta demands information, but Dabi refuses. Shouta sees the wildfires and wonders what is going on; Tenya, Mashirao, Minoru and Kouji arrive at the facility. Suddenly, Dabi breaks free of Shouta’s grasp but Shouta still has his Capturing Weapon around Dabi. Suddenly, Dabi begins disintegrating into nothing and disappears. Shouta orders Tenya, Mashirao, Minoru and Kouji to go into the facility. Shouta decides to head into the forest.

Somewhere in the forest, it is revealed that the Dabi Shouta was fighting was a clone courtesy of a villain called Twice with a duplicating Quirk. The real Dabi asks the duplicating Quirk villain to make two clones of him so that he can resume his fight with Shouta, to which Twice complies.

Izuku and Kouta are running through the forest and spot Shouta. Izuku decides to leave Kouta’s protection to Shouta and heads off to seek Mandalay. However, Shouta stops Izuku before he can run off, asking Izuku to relay a message to her.

Shouta's Message: Class 1-A and 1-B Make A Stand!
Outside the forest, Mandalay and Tiger continue fighting Spinner and Kenji respectively. Kenji manages to continue holding his own against Tiger while Spinner manages to give Mandalay trouble. Just as Spinner is about to attack Mandalay with his bladed weapon, Izuku appears and lunges with his legs empowered by One For All Full Cowl which destroys the bladed weapon, much to Spinner’s shock. After tumbling to the ground, Izuku informs Mandalay that Kouta is safe and asks her to communicate Shouta’s message.

Mandalay uses her Telepath and sends Shouta’s message to Class 1-A and 1-B; he authorizes them for combat. This means that the students of Class 1-A and 1-B will be able to fight back against the Vanguard Action Squad. In the forest, Shouta realizes that the villains’ goal is targeting thestudents and has no choice but to allow the students to defend themselves since the situation is a matter of life or death. Shouta decides that he will take the punishment as a result of his authorization and hopes that the students don’t get themselves killed.

Shouta takes Kouta to safety, surmising that Izuku’s adrenaline is preventing him from experiencing the pain of his Quirk’s overuse. Kouta wonders if Izuku will be alright, crying that he didn’t get a chance to apologize. Shouta tells Kouta that Izuku will be alright and advises him to thank Izuku the next time he sees him.

The battle between Mandalay and Spinner as well as Tiger and Kenji continues in earnest. Izuku tells Mandalay that one of the villains’ goal is to capture Katsuki and asks her to inform everyone about it. As Izuku sprints to the forest, Kenji realizes that Izuku defeated Muscular he knows about one of their goals. Kenji tries to attack Izuku, but Spinner intercepts which allows Izuku to escape. Kenji is displeased with Spinner’s action; Spinner says that Stain deemed Izuku worthy of being a Hero and he will respect that opinion as well. Mandalay sees that Spinner has left his guard down and kicks him in the face, knocking him down. Izuku enters the forest while Mandalay uses her Telepathy to inform everyone that Katsuki must avoid fighting since he is one of the targets.

Meanwhile, Shouto engages in combat with the restrained villain (known as Moon Fish), using his ice to block the villain’s teeth enlarging Quirk. Moon Fish proves to be highly skilled, being able to break through Shouto’s ice and nearly hit Katsuki with one of his teeth, only to be intercepted by Shouto’s ice. Shouto warns Katsuki to not use his Explosion Quirk due to the fear of igniting the poisonous gas and causing more chaos, much to Katsuki’s annoyance. Moon Fish continues breaking through Shouto’s ice defenses with his teeth enlarging Quirk while also using his teeth to maneuver himself around. Shouto analyses that retreat is not possible since they will get caught in the gas and concludes that he and Katsuki are in a bind.

Tetsutetsu and Itsuka continue walking through the forest; Itsuka realizes that the gas is not dispersing and surmises that a villain is manipulating the gas; they decide to find the villain responsible for the gas. Tetsutetsu and Itsuka eventually reach the source of the poisonous gas; Tetsutetsu prepares to attack the gas masked villain, but the villain was aware of their presence and took out his gun, firing it at Tetsutetsu.

The Battle Intensifies: The True Power of Fumikage's Dark Shadow!
Elsewhere in the forest, Izuku continues his search for Katsuki. Out of nowhere, a giant shadow claw is about to attack Izuku; Izuku tries to defend himself, but his adrenaline begins wearing off and starts to feel great pain which stops him from moving. However, Izuku is saved by Mezou. Mezou decides to carry Izuku on his back after seeing his grievous injuries. Mezou explains to Izuku that he and Fumikage were ambushed by Moon Fish; he covered for Fumikage and as a result, he lost one of his tentacles. Consequently, the ambush caused Fumikage to lose control of his Quirk that he was desperately trying to keep under control, Dark Shadow.

Izuku and Mezou turn their attention to Fumikage; Fumikage has been restrained by Dark Shadow, who is now larger and more ferocious due to the power of darkness. The empowered and berserk Dark Shadow begins taking control of Fumikage’s body. Struggling, Fumikage pleads Izuku and Mezou to run away from him otherwise they will die. Izuku watches in shock.

The rampaging Dark Shadow attacks and destroys several trees around it. Then, Dark Shadow attacks Mezou and Izuku, but Mezou is able to dodge in the last moment. After Mezou holding Izuku maneuvers behind a tree, Mezou sees Dark Shadow attacking anything that moves or makes, and he also notes that Fumikage’s regret and indignation are intensifying Dark Shadow’s control over Fumikage and Fumikage's own power. Fumikage pleads Mezou and Izuku to save the others and forget about him. Mezou informs Izuku that they need light to calm Dark Shadow down so that Fumikage can regain control, although Izuku is indecisive as to save who. Dark Shadow attacks again; prompting Mezou to ask Izuku to make a decision whether to save Katsuki or Fumikage. Izuku apologizes to Mezou as he cannot make such a decision and instead has a plan.

Elsewhere in the forest, the gas-masked villain destroys Tetsutetsu’s mask. Tetsutetsu holds his breath and tries attacking again, but the gas masked villain fires his gun again, which stops Tetsutetsu. The masked villain criticizes Tetsutetsu for only using brawns instead of strategy; he senses Itsuka’s presence nearby and fires at her. However, Tetutetsu uses his steel body to block the villain’s attack, saving Itsuka. Tetsutetsu is injured in the process and starts becoming dizzy due to the gas. The gas masked villain tells the duo that he can sense anything in the gas that he controls. The gas masked villain mocks Tetsutetsu’s Quirk as well as lack of intelligence and is disappointed that despite training to be a hero, he doesn’t use strategy; the villain expresses his frustration at Yuuei's system and takes his anger out on Tetsutetsu by firing more bullets. Suddenly, Itsuka enlarges her right hand and smacks the gas mask villain away. Seeing that the gas is a hindrance, Itsuka enlarges her hands and uses them to swirl the gas away; Itsuka mocks the gas masked villain for acting cowardly by using a gun to fight. The gas masked villain prepares to fire his gun at Itsuka for her insult. Out of nowhere, Tetsutetsu appears behind the villain, who was unable to notice Tetsutetsu’s presence due to the gas dispersing courtesy of Itsuka. Tetsutetsu holds his breath and punches the villain in the face with his steel fist, which crushes his mask and in the process causes the villain to become unconscious. The victorious Tetsutetsu lies down on the ground and regains his breath.

Meanwhile, although the battle is not in their favor, Shouto and Katsuki continue their battle with Moonfish; Shouto is unable to fight properly due to carrying Kousei. Shouto tries his best to keep Moonfish at bay by blocking his path with ice. Katsuki becomes furious that he is unable to fight back, thinking that firing a huge explosion should stop Moonfish, but Shouto warns Katsuki that the huge explosion will limit their visibility and give the villain more attacking opportunities. When Mezou and Izuku arrive to Katsuki and Shouto's location, Mezou asks one of them to make light. Before he can explain further, Moonfish senses Mezou and Izuku’s presence and sends one of his teeth to attack them. Suddenly, the rampaging Dark Shadow appears and uses its enormous claw to crush Moonfish, destroying Moonfish’s teeth. Shouto and Katsuki are surprised at what transpired. Izuku’s plan was to lure the rampaging Dark Shadow to their location by creating decoys from Mezou’s Replicant Arms which worked. When Izuku is happy to see Katsuki, Izuku is glad that he does not have to save only one of his classmates and sacrifice the other.

Katsuki and Shouto are surprised at what happened. Shoiji asks Katsuki and Shouto to make light with their Quirks to calm down Dark Shadow. Before Shouto can act, Katsuki tells Shouto to wait. Moonfish gets back up using his teeth and is enraged, shouting that only he is allowed to harm the kids. Moonfish attacks the rampaging Dark Shadow with his teeth, but Dark Shadow is not affected or even harmed by Moonfish's counter attack. Dark Shadow grabs Moonfish and smashes him through several trees, which heavily injures Moonfish and incapacitates him. Dark Shadow throws the incapacitated Moonfish aside. With Moonfish defeated, Katsuki and Shouto manage to get close to Fumikage and use their Quirks, which calms down Dark Shadow; Dark Shadow reduces in size and retracts back into Fumikage, allowing Fumikage to return to normal.

The Dark Side Wavers: Protect Katsuki!
Now back in control, Fumikage thanks Katsuki and Shouto for saving him. Mezou is glad that Fumikage is fine. However, Fumikage is regretful that he couldn’t conceal his anger when Mezou lost one of his arms, which caused him to release Dark Shadow out of anger and lose control due to being enraged and spurred on by Dark Shadow’s own rage. Fumikage is guilty for harming Mezou; Mezou tells Fumikage that he doesn’t need to feel guilty.

Izuku tells Fumikage that their top priority is to protect Katsuki, who is the target of the villains’. Izuku decides that they should escort Katsuki back to the facility and take a shortcut through the forest to do so; Izuku thinks that with the power of Mezou’s scouting capabilities, Shouto’s powerful Quirk and the unrivaled power of Fumikage’s Dark Shadow, escorting Katsuki will be a cinch. However, Katsuki is angry that he needs protecting and refuses their help. The Bakugou Escort Squad (consisting of Mezou, Shouto, Izuku and Fumikage) begin escorting a begrudging Katsuki back to the facility.

A few moments earlier before the Bakugou Escort Squad was formed, Tsuyu and Ochako are fighting Himiko Toga who managed to slightly wound Ochako’s arm. Himiko notes that her Quirk requires her to make big wounds in order to suck her targets’ blood. However, thanks to her machine, her Quirk’s weakness is compensated by the machine’s ability to drain blood from tiny wounds. Himiko begins to attack, to which Tsuyu responds to by flinging Ochako away with her tongue. Tsuyu tells Ochako to run back to the facility; Himiko strikes Tsuyu's tongue with her knife and holds her against a tree. Ochako runs back to Tsuyu and dodges Himiko's attack. Ochako uses her martial arts and apprehends Himiko.

With Himiko on the ground and apprehended, Ochako tells Tsuyu to restrain her arms. However, Himiko begins talking to Ochako, calling her spectacular while noting that they are similar. Himiko says that they are in love with someone. Himiko tells Ochako that she knows how she feels because they are girls; Himiko begins talking about people who are in love strive to be like the ones they love. Himiko’s talking enrages Ochako. Himiko notes that love stories are fun and uses her machine to stab Ochako’s leg, who was unable to stop her due to being caught off guard with Himiko’s talking. Himiko begins draining Ochako’s blood.

Suddenly, the Bakugou Escort Team arrives and sees Ochako. Himiko stops draining Ochako’s blood and pushes Ochako aside, not wanting to engage a large group of enemies and not wanting to die. Before retreating, Himiko sees Izuku and blushes. Himiko retreats with Ochako wanting to follow her, but Tsuyu stops her due to Himiko’s Quirk being largely unknown. After seeing that Ochako and Tsuyu are alright, Izuku asks them to join the escort. However, Ochako and Tsuyu wonder why Katsuki isn’t with them. Mezou, Shouto and Izuku turn around only to find that Fumikage and Katsuki are missing.

Suddenly, a masked villain appears on a tree branch and reveals that he used his “magic” to take Katsuki by turning him into a marble. The masked magician-like villain states that the Heroes don’t deserve someone of Katsuki’s caliber and notes that Katsuki will shine even brighter on the villains’ side. Izuku demands that he give Katsuki back.

The Bakugou Escort Squad, Ochako and Tsuyu come face to face with the magician villain, known as Mr. Compress who has kidnapped Katsuki. Izuku demands that he gives Katsuki back because he would never work with villains due to being his own person. Shouto freezes the tree but Compress evades Shouto’s attack. Mr. Compress states they are attacking the training camp to make a point; that they are proving there is not just one perspective to look at only. Mr. Compress criticizes the Yuuei students’ for having their perspectives and values been chosen for them, displeased that there is no free will. Mezou realizes that Fumikage has also been taken. Shouto surmises that the villain sneaked up behind them and kidnapped Katsuki and Fumikage. Mr. Compress explains that his mission was to capture only Katsuki, but after seeing Fumikage overpower and defeat Moonfish so easily, he decided to kidnap Fumikage as well because of his powerful Quirk and notes that he will prove to be useful. Shouto hands Kousei to Ochako. After doing so, Shouto uses his Giant Ice Wall attack in an attempt to immobilize Mr. Compress. However, Mr. Compress evades and apologizes for only running away and deceiving, admitting that is what he’s good at. Mr. Compress informs the Vanguard Action Squad that their target has been captured; he tells his fellow villains that the mission is done and states that they have five minutes to rendezvous at the “collection point”.

The Vanguard Action Squad's Endgame: The League of Villains Gain Momentum
Somewhere in the forest at the rendezvous point, Dabi and Twice have heard Mr. Compress's report. Dabi notes that their only action now is to wait for their fellow villains. However, Dabi states that there is no gas or walls of fire to make the escape better. Dabi relents and accepts that plans don’t always go accordingly. Behind a bush near Dabi and Twice, Yuuga is contemplating on what to do because he was instructed by Momo to take the unconscious Kyouka and Tooru (who are with him) back to the facility, but Dabi and Twice’s presence are preventing him from doing that. Suddenly, Dabi spots the bush Yuuga is hiding behind, much to Yuuga’s fear. Dabi prepares to go and check, however, he stops after Twice informs him that they must also call back Noumu since he only responds to Dabi. Dabi prepares to call back the Noumu while Yuuga is relieved that Dabi did not discover his location.

In another part of the forest, Yousetsu is carrying an injured Momo with him while running away from the Vanguard Action Squad’s Noumu. The Noumu cuts several trees down with its multiple weapon arms consisting of chainsaws, drills and hammers to get to Yousetsu; the Noumu reaches him and is about to attack Yousetsu with one of its weapon arms. Suddenly, the Noumu’s chainsaw arm stops; the Noumu retracts its weapon arms into its body and begins walking back to the Vanguard Action Squad’s rendezvous point. Momo realizes that the Noumu is being called back because the villains have captured Katsuki. Thinking of a plan, Momo creates a button (which appears to be some sort of tracking device) and asks Yousetsu to weld the button onto the Noumu. Yousetsu does what Momo asked and uses his Quirk to bond Momo’s button onto the Noumu. As the Noumu walks away with Momo’s button stuck on it, Yousetsu and Momo decide to make a run for it.

Outside the forest, Mandalay and Tiger have defeated Spinner and Kenji; Mandalay apprehends Spinner while Tiger uses his Quirk, Pliiabody, to restrain Kenji. Kenji blames Spinner for their defeat while Spinner declares to fulfill Stain's wishes. Out of nowhere, Kurogiri appears and surrounds Mandalay and Tiger with his black mist, asking them to move aside.

Shouto prepares to chase the villain, but sees that Mr. Compress is far away due to his speed. Izuku refuses to give up and hatches a plan to save Fumikage and Katsuki; Izuku asks Ochako to make him, Shouto and Mezou float, then tells Tsuyu to use her tongue to throw their weightless bodies as hard as she can towards the magician, which will allow the three of them to fly towards the villain with Mezou using his arms to guide their trajectory; once they are in reach of the villain Ochako will deactivate her Quirk. However, Ochako and Shouto see that Izuku’s injuries are severe and think he should stay put. Izuku insists that he goes along which convinces Ochako and Shouto. They execute the plan; Tsuyu wraps her tongue around Izuku, Mezou and Shouto while Ochako uses her Quirk to make them weightless. Tsuyu throws the weightless Izuku, Mezou and Shouto towards the Compress. The three fly at Mr. Compress at high speed and reach him.

At the rendezvous point, Himiko has arrived with Dabi asking how her mission went, only for Himiko to reply that she could get the blood of one person. Twice is unimpressed and wonders why Himiko is excited, to which Himiko replies that she found a boy she is interested in. As Himiko and Twice converse, Dabi orders them to keep quiet.

Dabi sees something approaching them;  Izuku, Mezou and Shouto smash Mr. Compress onto the ground and then apprehend him. Dabi is seemingly displeased while Twice contradicts his knowledge about the identity of the Heroes.

Inside the facility at the time of Mandalay’s telepathic notice, Eijirou and Mina ask Blood King to allow them to fight in order to help Katsuki. However, Blood King prevents the students in the building from fighting because although Shouta’s order allowed them to fight, his order was meant to allow the students to defend themselves. Someone approaches the facility and blows down the door with flames; Blood King saves Eijirou and Mina from the impact of the flames. Outside the destroyed it is a clone of Dabi. Blood King takes action and smashes the Dabi clone into the wall. Unable to escape or fight back due to Blood King restraining his body with Blood Manipulation, the Dabi clone explains another goal of the Vanguard Action Squad besides capturing Katsuki. The Dabi clone states that the Vanguard Action Squad's attack at the training camp will cause society to start losing trust in Heroes. Shouta arrives and defeats the Dabi clone which turns into a puddle. Shouta asks Blood King to protect Kouta while he goes back out. The Class 1-A students want to fight, but Shouta prohibits it since the villains are targeting students. Shouta heads to the frontlines.

Back in the present at the Vanguard Action Squad’s rendezvous point, Dabi asks Mr Compress to dodge and launches his flames. Mr Compress uses his Quirk to compress himself and avoids the flames; Shouto is able to dodge Dabi’s flames, but Izuku and Mezou are not able to, causing their right and left arms respectfully to be hit by the flames. In an instant, Twice appears behind Shouto and attacks him, only for Shouto to block Twice’s attack with his ice which sends Twice reeling. Himiko also decides to fight and attacks Izuku, telling him her name and thinks that he should bleed more. Mezou smacks Himiko off Izuku while Shouto deals with Twice. Mr Compress deactivates his Quirk and approaches Dabi, preparing to give the captured Fumikage and Katsuki to him. However, he searches his pocket and is unable to find the marbles containing the targets; Mezou reveals that he took the marbles from Mr Compress immediately after they landed on the ground.

Suddenly, the Vanguard Action Squad’s Noumu appears as well as Kurogiri who has arrived to teleport them away. Himiko, Twice and the Noumu go into Kurogiri’s Warp Gate and successfully teleport away. Mr Compress reveals that the marbles Mezou took are not the captured targets and are decoysinstead; the marbles Mezou took transform into ice, which shocks Mezou. Mr Compress removes his mask and sticks out his tongue which has the actual marbles; the magician puts his mask back on while explaining that he wanted to give the young Heroes a sense of false hope and is satisfied by it as well as his flaunting which he considers a bad habit. Mr Compress slowly enters Kurogiri’s portal after bidding farewell. Having overheard what is happening; Yuuga takes action and fires his Navel Laser at Mr Compress’s face, which breaks Compress’s mask and causing Mr Compress to spit out the marbles containing Fumikage and Katsuki. Izuku, Mezou and Shouto rush to grab the marbles, although Izuku starts succumbing to his injuries which causes him to fall to the ground. Mezou and Shouto continue rushing towards the marbles; Mezou grabs the marble containing Fumikage, thus saving him. Shouto is almost in reach of the marble containing Katsuki and nearly grabs it, but Dabi snatches it away before Shouto can grab it.

With Katsuki in his grasp, Dabi orders Mr Compress to deactivate his Quirk; he does so which frees Fumikage and Katsuki from their marble prisons. Dabi and Mr Compress begin teleporting away along with Katsuki. As the teleportation is nearing completion, Izuku gets up and desperately tries to stop Dabi from taking Katsuki but to no avail. Before teleporting with the villains, Katsuki tells Izuku to stay away. Dabi, Mr Compress and the captured Katsuki successfully teleport away.

The Vanguard Action Squad has disappeared from the battlefield along with Katsuki. Izuku howls in grief due to being unable to save Katsuki.

Story Impact

 * Class 1-A and Class 1-B will be focusing on increasing the power of their Quirks.
 * Himiko Toga and Dabi join the League of Villains and form a team along with eight other new Villain Alliance members, who attack the Yuuei students' during the training camp on the night of the third day.
 * The mission of the new team, known as the Vanguard Action Squad, is to capture Katsuki Bakugou.
 * The Vanguard Action Squad complete their mission and capture Katsuki Bakugou.
 * During the mission, Mr. Compress, who was tasked with capturing Katsuki, also captured Fumikage after witnessing him overwhelm and defeat Moonfish with ease. However, Fumikage isn't captured thanks to the efforts of Yuuga and Mezou.
 * Class 1-B get their first real life experience of the world of Pro Heroes.
 * New Quirks are revealed
 * Pixiebob's Quirk; she has the ability to manipulate earth and create sentient beings made out of earth, which she calls Earth Demons.
 * Mandalay's Quirk; she has the ability to communicate telepathically, allowing her to advise and instruct multiple people at once.
 * Ragdoll's Quirk; she has the ability to observe and monitor up to 100 people at a time, including their location and weak points.
 * Muscular's Quirk; he has the ability to augment the muscle fibers that are beneath his skin, which results in an increase in strength and speed.
 * Yousetsu's Quirk; he has the ability to fuse objects together at the atomic level.
 * Tiger's Quirk; he can stretch and flatten his body.


 * Izuku defeats his first villain by himself.
 * Fumikage's Quirk is shown under the power of darkness for the first time.

Characters Introduction

 * Pixiebob
 * Kouta
 * Mandalei
 * Blood King
 * Ragdoll
 * Tiger
 * Spinner
 * Kenji Hikiishi
 * Moonfish
 * Muscular
 * Twice
 * Mr Compress