Chapter 117 (Vigilantes)

In her hospital bed, Kazuho Haneyama goes into a seizure while Midnight looks on in alarm, telling herself that with Koichi out there fighting for her sake she cannot fold. Koichi, meanwhile, is startled by what Knuckle Style did, then goes back to running from Destruction Style Number 6, realizing what he just threw is the forbidden one, a shot that was meant to stay holstered.

The Knuckleduster illusion returns with tactical advice. Number 6's frame is pure energy now and cannot be damaged in the usual way, but the real body sits in the head, so the play is a solid hit to the exposed brain to finish him. Koichi rejects it flatly, along with Shooty-Go-Kablam, even as Knuckleduster presses the kill-or-be-killed line, and asks why murder is suddenly acceptable.

Backup arrives from an unexpected quarter: an illusion of Pop☆Step, whose scowl throws him off balance before the chase resumes. She asks why he picked a fight with a monster, and he clarifies that he did not start it but has to keep the thing penned here or its rampage spills past the neighborhood. Knuckleduster calls that noble and still insists he fight back and scramble the brain, while Pop appends a condition: without killing.

Koichi admits his real worry is that fighting back will make her angry, which prompts a jab about how frightening that makes her sound, until he clarifies that he is not scared of her, he just does not want to be hated. She flushes deeply. Leaping into the air, she draws the line between being mad at him and hating him, and against the bright moon she tells him nothing he could ever do would make her hate him, and that her love for him is permanent.

With Number 6 closing, Koichi turns to attack. Pop reflects that no Heroes are around, which leaves him as the sole candidate for the role tonight, and this once she will permit it. She cheers him on, and his Knuckle Style swing sends three enormous shots straight through Number 6's body.

A seizure grips Kazuho Haneyama while Midnight keeps watch at her bedside.

Illusions of Knuckleduster and Pop☆Step join Koichi, reuniting the Naruhata Vigilantes in his mind.

Knuckleduster identifies Number 6's exposed brain as the weak point and urges a killing blow, which Koichi refuses.

Pop☆Step tells Koichi that nothing could make her hate him and gives him permission to play hero this once.

Knuckle Style connects, punching three holes clean through the energy body of Number 6.

Titled Gotta Be the Bad One, the chapter runs nineteen pages and was released on January 8, 2022. It is collected in Volume 15 and belongs to the Naruhata Lockdown arc, following Chapter 116 and preceding Chapter 118.

Koichi Haimawari appears alone on the cover. Hideyuki Furuhashi writes the series and Betten Court illustrates it.

The chapter originally ran under the shorter title Damena Yatsu, meaning The Bad One, before being amended for the volume release.