Chapter 65

A minute earlier, a huge blast has bought the boys a sprint at the escape gate. One of them through means both pass. Izuku Midoriya cannot see their teacher and wonders whether he went down; Katsuki Bakugo snaps at the thought and says the bracer comes out if All Might resurfaces. He does, asking what exactly Katsuki intends next, and crushes the Grenadier Bracers to scrap. His weights, he explains, leave him using a sliver of his real strength. A foot pins Katsuki; Izuku dangles in the air.

In the present, Recovery Girl names Todoroki and Yaoyorozu as the first pair through, and All Might registers with surprise that his colleague lost. He grinds Katsuki into the dirt. The realization lands: this is the genuine strongest hero, a wall higher than anything Katsuki can climb. Izuku reaches for Full Cowl and gets slammed down.

Katsuki forces himself up and detonates a blast that floods All Might's vision with light, then hurls Izuku toward the gate. New Hampshire Smash answers, driving All Might's weighted bulk into him and dropping him hard. Chasing after, Katsuki confesses what the bracers were: maximum output without the risk. He calls himself a fool for wanting a win that cost nothing, unloads an explosion on the scale of his Sports Festival showing, and yells at Izuku to run, ready to spend himself as a shield. The Symbol of Peace is dazzled and untouched.

Izuku gets Full Cowl running and breaks for the gate as Katsuki is driven into the ground again. He looks back. Katsuki, wrecked, screams at him to go and bites down on All Might's hand, which changes nothing. So Izuku turns around. Remembering that fear is met with a smile, he grins and puts a fist in his teacher's face. The recoil buys just enough. He scoops up the unconscious Katsuki and carries him through the gate, and both pass. All Might shakes off the punch and watches, understanding that when this boy moves to save someone, no wall ever stands in his way.

The Midoriya and Bakugo match against All Might concludes with the students clearing the practical portion.

Katsuki accepts that a riskless victory was never on offer, destroys the safety margin his gear provided, and throws a distraction big enough to open a path, meaning to sacrifice himself so his partner escapes.

Izuku refuses to leave alone. He strikes All Might at full force, retrieves the unconscious Katsuki and carries him out, convincing All Might that the instinct to save people defines him.

Twenty pages, published November 2, 2015 in issue 49 and collected in volume 8 within the Final Exams arc. Izuku Midoriya and All Might appear on the cover, and the release carried a color page and a sketch.

Episode 37 adapts the chapter in full.

Two author comments accompany it. Horikoshi apologizes to Hirofumi Neda for being distracted by anime excitement, and Neda notes their long-promised exchange has finally happened, crediting Horikoshi for most of it before asking about the weather.