Chapter 43

Shoto opens the tournament final by trying to end it on the spot, burying Katsuki under an enormous column of ice. Explosions melt him free, and more of them flip him overhead, from which he catches hair and collar and slams Shoto down. A wall of ice at Shoto's back keeps him inside the ring. Katsuki presses immediately, but Shoto slides clear of the blast and returns the throw, sending Katsuki into the ice while removing himself from the path.

What Katsuki cannot tolerate is a half-effort opponent, and he says so: do not stand across from me unless you intend to win. He climbs, spins with an explosion in each hand, and builds momentum. Shoto spends those seconds arguing with himself over the fire. The fight against Izuku left him unsure of what he wants or how to proceed, and the deliberation tangles him. Izuku's shout snaps him back and he ignites, only for the memory of his mother's reaction to his left side to gut the impulse, and the flames die. Katsuki's wind-up finishes and Howitzer Impact, a tornado of explosive force, lands on him.

Shoto is out of bounds and apparently unconscious when the smoke clears. Katsuki storms over and hauls him up by the shirt, disgusted with what he was handed, before Midnight's Somnambulist drops him mid-tantrum. The out-of-bounds ruling stands, so Shoto loses and Katsuki is named winner of the final match, the tournament, and the U.A. Sports Festival's first-year stage.

Shoto's fight with Izuku has cost him his will to win, and it shows across the entire final. Katsuki takes the match once Shoto declines to use his flames, then rejects the result as worthless and has to be put to sleep by Midnight before he can take it out on his opponent.

Katsuki takes the first-year title at the U.A. Sports Festival. Howitzer Impact debuts as the move that ends the tournament.

The forty-third chapter of Horikoshi's series belongs to the U.A. Sports Festival arc, running 19 pages in issue 26 of 2015 on May 25 and collected in volume 5. Its cover pairs Shoto and Izuku with Present Mic and Eraser Head, and episode 25 adapts it.

Quirks on display include Explosion, Half-Cold Half-Hot, Somnambulist, and Hellflame in flashback, with Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall and the debuting Howitzer Impact as named super moves. All Might and Mt. Lady appear only in the background. Horikoshi's author comment mentions buying a Doctor Doom figure with nowhere left to display it.