Chapter 181

A short while earlier, Ectoplasm learns that a student left and never came back, and starts looking into it, only for Hound Dog to report a disturbance and ask to borrow five clones, which he gets. In the present those clones ring Gentle and La Brava as the villain announces his surrender, one of them recognizing him as a man with a habit of running away. Hound Dog grabs him and demands the whereabouts of his comrades; Gentle denies having any, calls his injuries a stumble, and insists there is only himself and La Brava. The hero is unconvinced, having already caught the scent of one of the school's students.

Izuku, having landed outside the forest, works out what Gentle intends and hurries back. Set on shielding La Brava, and inclined by nature to look out for others, Gentle points the heroes toward the student and then lies outright, claiming he kidnapped La Brava and brainwashed her, and asking that she be pardoned. He tells Izuku he is glad his last fight was this one while La Brava cries inconsolably. When Hound Dog asks whether the two of them fought, Izuku plays along, describing a prank aimed at U.A. and a small dispute over it. Snipe radios for an update and Hound Dog passes it off as a troublesome video uploader chasing the spotlight, nothing urgent, which lets Izuku breathe again. As Gentle is escorted toward the police station, he tells Izuku that a hero course once had him on its rolls too, that dropping out is what made him a villain, and that while he has no standing to offer advice, he hopes the boy's feelings manage to reach people.

A clone points out the time, 9:17, against a ten o'clock curtain. Izuku realizes his bag of items is still where the fight began and doubles back with the clone, understanding at last what made Gentle so hard to beat: they share the same sentiment, the man fighting for La Brava's sake and Izuku fighting to protect Eri's smile. At 9:35 an elderly gentleman turns up holding the bag, and Izuku thanks him. Back at the venue Eri wonders whether Izuku will dance, an excited crowd gathers, and his classmates fret over his absence. At 9:59 the clock turns, the curtains part, the audience roars, and Izuku is there, waving, drawing a smile out of Eri.

Ectoplasm and Hound Dog take Gentle into custody and hand him over to the police. Gentle claims sole responsibility in order to protect La Brava, and Izuku backs up the story. Izuku recovers his bag and reaches the stage just as Class 1-A begin, which marks the start of the U.A. School Festival proper.

The chapter is called For Someone Else, or Ta ga Tame, runs fifteen pages, and was published on May 2, 2018 in issue 23. It sits in Volume 20 of the U.A. School Festival arc, with Hound Dog, La Brava, Gentle, and Ectoplasm on the cover, and is adapted as Episode 86. Horikoshi's author note thanks Kellogg's Japan for sending him Pringles.