Battle Without A Quirk seals Toshinori Yagi inside Armored All Might and points him at All For One. Nighteye's prophecy hangs over the fight, Naomasa begs La Brava to cut the stream, and a Quirkless man opens with gear modeled on his own students.
Summary
Roughly twenty minutes before the Twice Doubles evaporate, All Might squares up against All For One. Nighteye had foreseen a gruesome death waiting at the end of his road, though not that the young man delivering it would be this one, and if the prediction still holds, this is where it lands. He announces himself, triggers the support gear packed into Hercules, and the machinery closes around him as Armored All Might.
He orders Hercules to record and tells Naomasa Tsukauchi to stay on the feed. At Counter-Force HQ, La Brava immediately starts streaming over the officers' objections. Naomasa remembers watching him leave and thinking that no amount of hardware bridges the gap for a man with no Quirk, and tells her to kill the broadcast, since all it will carry is a retired hero dying badly to buy minutes before All For One reaches his student.
All For One regards him as his oldest obstacle and favorite plaything, sees the stalling for what it is, and is provoked into swinging anyway by that smile. His blast meets Red Riot, the suit sheathing All Might's body and carrying him up through the impact. Shields are down sixty-six percent and will not take another hit, the suit reports, which does not concern him. All For One recognizes the reckless charge and snarls that it only ever worked because One For All was behind it.
Wires whip out and wrap the villain, and Blackwhip and Chargebolt drive current through him, fouling his regeneration. Ever since the last fight with Nana Shimura, All Might shouts, All For One has opened at range, grinding people down before helping himself to their Quirks, a method that assumes the user has one. Cellophane hauls the wires taut and Sugarman loads his kick.
La Brava asks whether Naomasa is still gloomy, and the question jolts him, since after everything he has seen he should know what this man is. All Might explains that the suit and the car exist to keep him standing a while longer, built to specifications he wrote himself, and that the defeat which drove him to the United States is where he found the friend whose work this is. Melissa Shield watches from her lab, hopeful. Everything he has been blessed with will be brought to bear, he tells Naomasa, who has known him long enough to remember that he has never entered a fight expecting to lose, and he drives a Shoot Style Smash into All For One.
Key Events
All Might deploys the Armored All Might suit, designed by Melissa Shield and running off the Hercules car, against All For One.
The suit's gadgets imitate Class 1-A abilities, letting a Quirkless All Might trade blows and stall the villain.
Naomasa initially expects him to die, then reconsiders as the fight turns.
All Might commits to winning despite Nighteye's prophecy.
Notes
Chapter 396 of My Hero Academia, by Kohei Horikoshi, ran August 7, 2023 in the combined issue 36-37 at fifteen pages, sits in Volume 39, and is adapted in Episode 159.
When La Brava announces her stream, nearby officers joke about whether broadcasting is her Bankai, a nod to Bleach.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What happens in My Hero Academia Chapter 396?
In Chapter 396, All Might faces All For One while wearing the Armored All Might suit. He stalls the villain, trades blows with support gear modeled on his students' Quirks, and commits fully to the fight despite Nighteye's old prophecy of his death.
What is the Armored All Might suit?
The Armored All Might suit is battle gear designed by Melissa Shield and powered by the Hercules car. It lets a now Quirkless All Might trade blows with All For One by imitating abilities used by his former students at U.A.
Who broadcasts the fight between All Might and All For One in Chapter 396?
La Brava streams the battle from Counter-Force HQ over the objections of nearby officers. Naomasa Tsukauchi initially wants the feed cut, expecting All Might to die.
What did Nighteye predict about All Might?
Nighteye had foreseen a gruesome death waiting for All Might, though not that All For One specifically would be the one to deliver it. In Chapter 396, All Might wonders whether this fight is where that prophecy finally lands.
What volume and episode cover Chapter 396 of My Hero Academia?
Chapter 396, titled Battle Without A Quirk, is collected in Volume 39. It was published on August 7, 2023 and is adapted in Episode 159 of the anime.
Sources & Information
Looking for more on Chapter 396? The Dragon Ball Wiki on Fandom has a dedicated page with community notes.
View on FandomThis content is original writing by Daddy Jim Headquarters based on the Dragon Ball anime series, manga, and official materials. Episode and chapter references are cited where applicable.
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