The following content contains spoilers fromMy Hero Academia, Season 6, episode 20, currently streaming onCrunchyroll.Although Deku may have left U.A. High School, cut ties with many of his allies, and is now only ever seen fighting alone, that doesn’t mean he is without support. Two groups, a selection of Pro-Heroes and One For All’s Past Users, are keeping the young Hero under constant surveillance and have made it their life’s mission to protect Izuku Midoriya from all sides.
Besides keeping the streets safe, the Heroes' main goal is to track down the League of Villains, and anxiety is beginning to set in asthe main miscreants' silence becomes deafening. Shigaraki, Dabi,Himiko, the Nomus, All For One; the whole squad of evil is missing in action while the grateful escapees happily do the League of Villain’s bidding, and the Heroes struggle to keep their heads above water.
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The Pro-Heroes' Problems
It’s a free-for-all on the streets of Japan, where anyone is targeted as a potential villain, whether or not they actually pose a threat as the civilians take justice into their own hands. Apart from tracking down the jailbreakers, the Heroes have to spend their precious time putting out the various firescaused by the panicked vigilanteswith their overabundance of support items, creating more havoc with every step. Avoiding the public also seems to be advantageous, lest one wishes to have trash and insults hurled at them! The very essence of what it means to be a Hero is fading away, only to be replaced by Stain’s condemnatory ideologies.
Keeping Deku’s secret from the masses is another top priority for Endeavor, Hawks and Best Jeanist, as he is likely to get bombarded by society’s hatred as severely as they currently are, or become prey to those who wish to deliver the boy to All For One in an attempt to end the conflict. Although it is not their first choice,the Pro-Heroes' only hopein luring All For One out is if Deku is the bait; a hard pill to swallow, but a necessary risk nonetheless, and One For All’s “anonymity” is paramount to this fragile plan.
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All Might is effectively fulfilling the overprotective parent role and has dedicated all his energy to keeping his ward as safe as possible, given the circumstances. He is so concerned about Deku’s health that he takes it upon himself to pack a Bento box for the boy; if he’s not going to sleep, he can at least eat a nutritious meal, which includes one of his favorites: pork cutlets! Meanwhile, Edge Shot is trying to track down the remnants ofthe Paranormal Liberation Front;however, he has seemingly yet to find the link between Re-Destro and Detnerat (the company distributing Support Items to the inexperienced, angry mobs.)
Assessing the Enemy
Deku’s team debated about whether to aim their focus toward rounding up theLeague of Villainsor patrolling the streets and protecting the innocent, as they simply don’t have enough manpower to perform both tasks efficiently. No matter what strategy they adopt, it appears that casualties are inevitable; however, attacking the League while they are laying low and regrouping might be the Heroes' best bet at regaining control over the situation.
In terms ofShigaraki, the general consensus seems to be thatAll For Onehas removed his top gun from the fight in order to complete his transformation, asDr. Ujiko’sprocedure was only 75% complete whenMirko intervened in Season 6, episode 4.How All For One plans on achieving this without the “good doctor’s” assistance (who is currently still incarcerated) is anyone’s guess, but All For One isn’t one to quit when things get tricky. Another breakout mission perhaps, this time including the forgotten Kurogiri? In addition to his destructive Quirk, Shigaraki was selected as All For One’s prodigy because of the intense rage he has always carried around with him, which will give them the edge over One For All’s team of strong-willed warriors. But surely All For One has enough anger of his own, after succumbing to multiple defeats over the years?
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The top three Pro-Heroes theorize thatAll For One has a limited emotional capacityand may not even have a heart to speak of; regardless of the situation, the tyrant always has a smile plastered to his face, (ironically, not unlike All Might’s hopeful grin.) Could All For One’s inhumanity somehow be his Achilles' heel? The League is already showing signs of strain under their new master’s unsympathetic rule, and loyalty was essentially the only thing keeping them together in the first place. They are more than just a group of power-hungry delinquents who blindly followed Shigaraki; however, All For One fails to see the virtue in the villains' bonds. AddStainto the mix (who has been freed, by the way), and the League might end up helping the Heroes and revolt.
One For All’s Woes
One For All’s former wielders reminisce about troubling times, way back when Quirks first started popping up and villains were manipulating the power system to their liking. So basically, just like the current situation; the social cycle theory, at its finest. Fear seemed to be the predominant aspect of lifebefore the Hero Society was born, and now that it has crumbled, emotions run rampant once again. The first set of Users are all too familiar with this, particularlythe Second and Third wielders;however, they are determined to remain uninvolved, refusing to help save Shigaraki from their ultimate nemesis. Stopping the Symbol of Fear from taking root will be impossible without everyone’s contribution; One For All needs a united front if Deku has any hopes of succeeding.
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Daigoro Banjowas the first to share his Blackwhip powers, closely followed byHikage Shinomoriand his Danger Sense, while it took a bit of convincing to getNanaShimuraandEnon board, with their Float and Smokescreen Quirks, respectively. There has been a bit of progress with the last two stubborn Users in Season 6, episode 20, who have at least opened up the lines of communication with Yoichi Shigaraki, who jumps on the opportunity to remind them how well things turned out when the pair showed him some compassion when they first met.
Yoichi was once All For One’s prisoner, much like Tomura, but the Second and Third Users decided to save the stranger instead of slaughtering him, which is exactly what Deku isattempting to do for Shigaraki. Explaining this appears to be a lightbulb moment for the disgruntled “spirits,” who realize that One For All wouldn’t exist if mercy hadn’t intervened. Finally, “the stage is ready!” for the Ninth (and possibly final) User to show his full potential, with One For All in all its glory (and two new speedy Quirks to play with!)
Deku’s Difficulties
Deku’s hardheaded nature has not dissipated amongst all these drastic changes, as he clearly still has an issue with following authority. The Pro-Heroes are giving Izuku a great deal of freedom by allowing him to roam the streets (alone, on top of it all!) and they appear to have very few rules set in place for him, apart from keeping them in the loop regarding his activities and avoidingLady Nagantat all costs. The #2 Pro-Hero seems well aware of the vixen’s capabilities and, as much faith as he has in the boy, Hawks urges caution,which Deku promptly ignores.Knowing full well that he is the target, Deku proceeds to battle the mysterious assailant head-on instead, in an attempt to save his allies from further suffering at the hands of All For One.
