Episode 17

Midnight lays out round two. Students have fifteen minutes to assemble squads of two to four, and every competitor carries a point value set by where they finished in the Obstacle Race. Izuku's win saddles him with ten million points, a deliberate simulation of how brutal it is to sit at the top. Squads pool their members' values onto a headband worn by the rider, and the objective is to snatch as many headbands as possible over a fifteen-minute clock. Losing a headband or falling does not eliminate anyone, but only four squads reach the finals. Her warning against deliberately toppling opponents irritates Katsuki.

Watching on break, Mount Lady, Kamui Woods, and Death Arms frame the Festival as a rehearsal for real Pro competition. Mount Lady finds the idea of climbing over colleagues depressing, which prompts Kamui Woods to remind her who stole his spotlight. All three agree that where the race tested individuals, this event tests cooperation.

Recruitment goes badly for Izuku, since nobody wants to stand next to a ten million point liability. Ochaco volunteers anyway, and Tenya turns them down: he counts both as best friends but treats Izuku as a rival and joins Shoto's team to sharpen himself. Mei Hatsume of the Support Course barges in seeking maximum exposure for her gadgets, and her inventions win Izuku over. Katsuki, who cannot recall most of his classmates' names, settles on Eijiro after the latter argues his case. Fumikage rounds out Team Midoriya just as twelve squads finalize. Shoto briefs Tenya, Denki, and Momo on his formation and states flatly that his left side stays unused.

Neito Monoma rallies Class 1-B around resentment, insisting his classmates are just as capable and that the fixation on Class 1-A's villain encounters is unearned.

The scramble opens with a rush on Izuku's headband. Juzo softens the ground to trap Team Midoriya, but Mei's jetpack and hover soles lift them clear, and Dark Shadow swats away Kyoka's Earphone Jack attack. Team Mineta reveals its trick, with Tsuyu and Minoru concealed behind Mezo's tentacles, and a sphere from Minoru pins the hover soles down. Izuku destroys the soles to escape as Team Tetsutetsu closes in. Katsuki flies in on explosions and is blocked by Dark Shadow, then falls until Hanta's tape catches him; Midnight rules the save legal since he never touched ground.

Present Mic notes that outside Team Midoriya, no Class 1-A squad sits in the top four. Neito lifts Kyoka's headband, then Katsuki's, and reveals the plan: several 1-B students deliberately coasted through the Obstacle Race inside the top forty while scouting 1-A's Quirks. Taunted about the Sludge Villain incident and called a victim, Katsuki abandons his original plan and orders his team to wipe out Class 1-B first. Izuku concludes 1-B will leave him alone, and is immediately confronted by Team Todoroki, with Shoto declaring the ten million points his.

Chapters 27 and 28 supply the material, and the episode covers the start of the Cavalry Battle during the U.A. Sports Festival arc.

A few beats shift between versions. The manga notes that Shoto's father holds the number two ranking when Shoto refuses to use his heat, while the anime withholds that detail at the time. Mezo walks away from Minoru's formation pitch in the anime before reconsidering, rather than hearing it out.

The anime also trims Minoru staring at Izuku's tears and wondering if he wet himself, adds a light jab from Jiro aimed at Dark Shadow and Tokoyami once her attack is blocked, gives Minoru and Tsuyu a second round of attacks once they reveal themselves, and cuts to a flashback of the Sludge Villain incident during Neito's taunt.