Chapter 414

Blackwhip laced across his ruined body gives Deku movement again, and the speed and creativity of the improvisation startle Daigoro and En. Kudo explains it plainly: obligation is not what moves the boy, respect is, and a wielder who adores every ability he holds will make One For All burn brighter still.

Deku plans around the loss of Gearshift, since delivering Kudo means matching Tomura's speed regardless, and he has nothing left except faith in the scheme. A handover only works if the receiver absorbs a trace of the holder's DNA, and consent is not required, a theory Kudo and Bruce tested themselves, and Kudo remarks that duty still binds them long past their deaths. Blood in an open wound is the vehicle, but Super Regeneration seals wounds quickly, so the only opening is the instant of impact, and the recoil has him near blacking out.

Tomura recalls the previous strike feeling ominous enough that he severed his own arm rather than let it connect. He assumes a scheme, notes that anyone in that condition would be clinging to life, remembers exactly who he is dealing with, and shrugs it off. He will simply keep destroying the boy, the country, and everything else for as long as it takes. Diving together, Deku commits to the transfer and Tomura promises to kill him.

Deku triggers Smokescreen, baffling En, who considered it the most worthless of the set. Tomura pushes through to the ground for a dose of Decay that would force his opponent onto defense, only for a barrage of Blackchains to rip the earth out from under him and fling it skyward. Daigoro realizes the strands were planted underground when Deku was first knocked away, carving up the ground in advance, a setup Tomura likens to the countermeasure U.A. built against Decay.

Danger Sense sends him grabbing behind himself at his own cape, hung on a Blackwhip decoy, a trick En recognizes from the Lady Nagant fight. Search insists the light on the tendril belongs to Deku until he spots the blood and understands the Quirk answered to that instead. The light is not even Deku's, and by the time he grasps why, Deku is already charging in from behind.

The gamble was that Search, which tracks whoever the user has seen, would register other One For All users, since Kudo's vestige split off to reside in the blood. Launching that blood ahead created the opening, while Smokescreen left Tomura misjudging where his opponent actually stood. En marvels at the use made of his ability, and the vestiges recall how Deku admires every Quirk he touches.

Tomura's absolute defense begins forming fingers around him, his body rejecting what is coming, but the punch lands first, driving Gearshift and Kudo's vestige into his stomach at point-blank range. Kudo tells Deku to carry no guilt over a ghost, then drives into the wound on the villain's soul before any use can be made of him, leaving Tomura reeling from the recoil.

Memories then leak between them. Deku sees Dabi and Himiko as they were when Tomura first found them, his own Sports Festival match against Shoto, and Spinner's first encounter with the villain. Yoichi realizes the two are blending together. En shouts that Kudo's plan is working but is not enough yet, and Deku braces to keep going.

Fifteen pages, published February 19, 2024 in issue 12 of 2024, collected in volume 41 of the Final War arc and adapted in Episode 165. Horikoshi's comment apologizes for falling ill and promises to take better care of himself.