Chapter 41

Surgery over, Recovery Girl tells Izuku she is finished patching up damage he inflicts on himself and presses All Might to find his student a safer way to wield One For All. Out in the corridor, Izuku argues the power belongs with somebody else, and his mentor answers with a secret: he was born Quirkless too. Asked why he never mentioned it, All Might notes that Izuku never asked. He picked the boy for the resemblance to his younger self, grants that recent actions have outrun those expectations, and insists only Izuku can make the power truly shine. Cheered up, Izuku apologizes and agrees to go watch the rest.

Two bouts have already passed him by. Tenya, glad the surgery went well, mentions beating Ibara Shiozaki and says his brother has been following the festival between jobs. Down in the ring, Eijiro gives Katsuki a harder time than Ochaco managed, until an explosion reveals the flaw in his defense: repeated hits wear Hardening thin. A relentless follow-up knocks him out, filling the final slot in a top four of Shoto, Tenya, Fumikage and Katsuki. Tenya excuses himself and heads down.

The first semi-final pairs Shoto against Tenya. An opening wave of ice misses as Tenya leaps clear, and Recipro Burst carries him into two speed-loaded kicks, the second slamming Shoto into the ground. Injured, Shoto still catches the leg long enough to be kicked away. Tenya grabs him and tries to hurl him out of bounds before the boost expires, then feels himself slowing: ice packed into his engines during that grab. Frozen where he stands and unable to move, he is ruled defeated. Shoto advances, granting on his way out that dodging the burst cleanly had been beyond him, and that he expected nothing less from it. Tenya's thoughts go to his brother.

Somewhere else entirely, blood pools around a fallen hero. A figure disgusted that Pro Heroes claim the title steps into the light, his ruined face wrapped in bandages, and names the only man worthy of it, the only one permitted to finish him: All Might.

All Might's Quirkless origin reaches Izuku here, and Recovery Girl draws a hard line under healing injuries born of overuse.

Three matches resolve: Tenya over Ibara offscreen, Katsuki over Eijiro, and Shoto over Tenya. Ingenium and Stain both debut, and the closing scene establishes a hero killer loose in Hosu City while the festival plays out.

Nineteen pages, published May 11, 2015 in issue 24 of that year, collected in volume 5 of the U.A. Sports Festival arc and adapted in Episode 24. Horikoshi's comment admits he would love horror movies playing while he works, if only his staff could stand it.