Katsuki Bakugo/Synopsis

History
Katsuki Bakugo grew up in the same neighborhood as Izuku Midoriya since they were young children. Izuku and Katsuki's other childhood friends gave him the nickname "Kacchan". Izuku and the other boys always looked up to Katsuki because of his energy, confidence, and natural-born talents (shown by his ability to juggle a football, read as well as making a stone skip seven times on water as a four year old; he was the type who could do anything he tried his hand at). Because of this praise, Katsuki developed a rather arrogant and self-inflated view of himself and would often pick on Izuku and gave him the nickname "Deku". Despite this, Izuku continued to follow him around.

Katsuki always admired All Might when he was young because the number one hero would always win against the odds. While watching a video of him at the electronics store, Katsuki tells his friends that All Might is the greatest hero because of his ability to achieve victory. Sometime later, Katsuki defeated a few fourth graders, as a first-grader, who bumped into him. With Izuku looking on, Katsuki says that the most amazing hero always wins no matter what.

Once Katsuki developed his Quirk, his aggressive tendencies transformed into heinous bullying. He was constantly praised for his powerful Quirk and other talents. As a result of this, he developed a twisted superiority complex as a young child. Believing himself to be better than everyone else, Katsuki looked down on Izuku especially because he lacked a Quirk altogether.

Despite this, Izuku still considered the two of them to be friends at the time, but things escalated when Izuku tried to help Katsuki after he fell off a small bridge into a stream. Izuku offered a helping hand, but Katsuki's pride caused him to take this an insult. He believed that Izuku made him appear as if he needed aid from someone who is much beneath him. This would strain the relationship between the two for years to come.

Entrance Exam Arc
During class at Aldera Junior High school, the teacher announces that all students will graduate, and Katsuki contends the notion that he is of the same status as his peers. He refers to his classmates as beneath him because of him acing the mock tests and his powerful Quirk. In consequence he tells them all that he alone will attend U.A. High School and surpass the number one hero: All Might.

The teacher discloses that Izuku is also attempting to get into U.A., much to Katsuki's displeasure. Katsuki berates Izuku and uses his Quirk to scare him by exploding his desk. He tells Izuku that because he is Quirkless, he will never succeed at anything, especially getting into U.A.

Katsuki and two of his friends confront Izuku after class. They take his hero notebook and Katsuki burns it before tossing it out the window into a fish pond. Katsuki reminds Izuku that only he himself is destined to reach that school and Izuku is just a stepping stone for his greatness. Before leaving the room, Katsuki warns Izuku not to apply to U.A. at all.

After school, Katsuki and company try to decide what to do for fun and ponder if Katsuki was too harsh on Izuku. Katsuki ignores them, only replying that he cannot stand Izuku's optimism and someone needs to teach him how the world works. The boys suggest they skip class and go to the arcade but Katsuki refuses because it could ruin his chances of getting into U.A.

Just then, the Sludge Villain captures Katsuki and goes on a rampage through the city. Katsuki tries to break free using his Quirk but is unable to, only setting fire to the area around him and making it more difficult for heroes to intervene.

As people and Heroes are watching, unable to help Katsuki, Izuku rushes to help him. While Katsuki demands to know why Izuku is helping him, Izuku states that he could not stand by and let Katsuki die. The two are ultimately saved by All Might, who destroys the villain while freeing Katsuki at the same time.

Afterward, Izuku is scolded for his recklessness, and Katsuki is praised for his Quirk, but the latter only frowns at him in silence. Later, he finds Izuku and yells at him for trying to help. Katsuki claims he was fine on his own and he may owe him but he was never going to apologize for his previous actions of destroying his book and voiced he didn't need any help before angrily storming away.

Months later, Katsuki arrives to take part in the U.A. Entrance Exam. While walking in, Katsuki notices Izuku walking in and tells him to move out of the way. Later in the auditorium, Katsuki is seated next to Izuku, whom he has to tell to shut up after he starts geeking out over Present Mic being the examiner. Katsuki is also upset by the fact that he and Izuku must participate in separate areas because Katsuki was excited to crush him.

After the exam begins, judges note that Katsuki took on the exam using brute force and combat ability. By the test's end, Katsuki scored seventy-seven combat points, the most out of any participant. He also received the lowest amount of rescue points, as he was the only student not to get any rescue points at all. Examiners were still very impressed by his performance.

Quirk Apprehension Test Arc
At the end of Aldera's academic year, Katsuki and Izuku are praised by their teacher for being the only two students in school history to get accepted into U.A. Katsuki angrily confronted Izuku and demanded to know what trick Izuku used to pass the exam. Katsuki wanted to be the only one from their school to attend U.A. and threatens for Izuku to change schools. However, Izuku stands up to Katsuki for the first time by refusing to withdraw, claiming that he now has someone who believes in him and he won't let them down.

April arrives and the U.A. academic year begins. On the very first day, Katsuki argued with Tenya Ida about having his feet on the desk. Tenya tries to introduce himself calmly, but Katsuki recognizes him as just another stepping stone and threatens to crush him. Their disagreement is ended when they see Izuku entering (with him being shocked both are his classmates). Very soon, the teacher Shota Aizawa arrives and takes them out to the P.E. field for a Quirk Apprehension Test.

Shota uses Katsuki as an example to explain the test. Throughout middle school, physical tests were always given without Quirks in mind. This led to Katsuki only throwing about sixty-five meters on his original ball toss. This time, Katsuki uses his Quirk to throw the ball and his explosive toss sends the ball over seven hundred meters.

The class goes through several different physical tests, including a fifty-meter dash and a standing long jump. Katsuki uses his Quirk to excel in both and claims that his Quirk is the most versatile in the class.

When Izuku takes the pitching test, Katsuki mocks him for being powerless but is shocked when Izuku uses a Quirk to toss the ball as far as he did. Katsuki is as angry as he is perplexed. He is not only confused about Izuku's new abilities, but enraged at the thought that Izuku had been lying about beign Quirkless all their lives. He angrily tried to attack Izuku for an explanation, but Shota stops him from doing so using his Quirk and capture weapon.

Battle Trial Arc
The next day at school during Hero Basic Training, Katsuki and the other students suit up in their hero costumes for combat training. Katsuki is teamed with Tenya on Team D and must face off with Team A, consisting of Izuku and Ochaco Uraraka. Team D is assigned the villainous mission to protect a warhead inside a building. Team A is assigned the task of stopping the villains by capturing the payload or the villains themselves.

As combat training begins, Katsuki still ponders over Izuku's Quirk and started to get angry as he believed Izuku was intentionally hiding his abilities from him for years and was playing him. He goes off his own and attempts to ambush Izuku and Ochaco. Izuku evades and saves Ochaco even though Katsuki manages to burn off his mask.

Katsuki tries to attack Izuku again, but he is countered and slammed to the ground by the latter. Izuku reveals to the surprised Katsuki that the same notebook Katsuki previously burned and threw out had notes about Katsuki's moves along with other heroes, which he memorized and knew ways to counter them. Finally standing his ground to Katsuki, Izuku tells him that he is no longer the same kid Katsuki used to bully and the name "Deku" would be a hero name, as Katsuki is angered at his declaration.

Katsuki attacks again but his moves are countered once more and he is nearly caught by the Capturing Weapon but breaks free. Then Izuku retreats, forcing Katsuki to search the building alone, giving Ochaco a chance to escape and find Tenya. Tenya tries to contact Katsuki, but he is too focused on attacking Izuku that he ignores him.

Katsuki eventually finds Izuku, demanding he use his Quirk while revealing information about his own. He explains that his Explosion Quirk works by detonating the nitroglycerin he sweats. The gauntlets on his costume store this "nitro-sweat", and once they're full Katsuki can fire off a huge blast.

All Might cautions him not to use the attack, but Katsuki does so anyway though he minimizes the damage. Izuku narrowly evades and the blast destroys a large portion of the building. All Might warns Katsuki should he use that attack again, his team will be disqualified.

Katsuki takes the duel into close quarters, where he easily dominates Izuku in combat while berating him. He uses his explosions charging forward where he gets in the air using his explosions which leads him to changing his trajectory in a blast that doubles as a smokescreen which finally causes him to blasting Izuku from behind. Then he grabs onto Izuku's arm and slams him into the ground after using explosions from his free hand to build up momentum. Firstly, Katsuki's fighting style garners him much commendation amongst his classmates but secondly his peers and All Might note his tendency to go too far as well as act like a villain.

Katsuki again demands that Izuku use his Quirk and questions whether Izuku feels he is too good for him now. This irritates Izuku, who expresses that he has always felt Katsuki was better, and that's why he wants to beat him.

Filled with emotion, both fighters rush each other for a final clash as Izuku uses his Quirk which delights Katsuki as he moves to attack. Knowing he cannot defeat Katsuki at close range, Izuku alerts Ochaco and uses his Quirk to smash the ceilings from every building story above him. The shockwave creates enough debris for Ochaco to use on the floor above. She uses her Quirk to float the debris and sends them flying at Tenya, then uses the opening to grab the weapon and secure the victory for Team A.

In disbelief at his loss, Katsuki begins to panic and hyperventilate at the idea of losing to Izuku for once. He is soon calmed and consoled by All Might, who tells Katsuki that it does not matter whether he won or lost, but that he takes a look back to reflect on his experience and learn from it. All Might leads Katsuki back to the monitoring room with the rest of the class where they critique the match.

Back in the monitor room, All Might declares Tenya the MVP of the exercise and asks the class why. Momo Yaoyorozu comments that Katsuki acted under a grudge and that his attack was far too foolish for the exercise, to which All Might agrees while Katsuki sulks. Katsuki watches the next match between Team B and Team I. He is visibly stunned by Shoto Todoroki's incredible Quirk and starts to wonder if he really is the best after seeing that amazing power.

After all the Battle Trial's are completed and the school day is done, Katsuki storms out of the school but is closely followed by Izuku. Once he catches up, Katsuki asks if he will gloat but Izuku reveals that he hasn't been deceiving Katsuki about his Quirk. Izuku goes on to reveal that he got his Quirk from someone else and can't yet control it, but Katsuki refuses to believe that as the whole thing sounded ridiculous.

In response, Katsuki admits his failure and inferiority to others even admitting to agreeing with Momo and acknowledges he can't defeat Shoto in a head to head fight. His pride has been damaged, but Katsuki declares that he will never lose again and will follow his dreams to become the best. All Might arrives and tries to console Katsuki again, but this time Katsuki tells him off and promises to surpass the number one hero without his help.

U.S.J. Arc
The next day of school, reporters looking for an interview from All Might recognize Katsuki. They ask if he's the victim from the Sludge Villain incident but he only responds by warning them to walk away.

In Class 1-A's homeroom, Shota criticizes Katsuki's performance during combat training. He says Katsuki has the talent and tells him not to sulk over his defeat. Next, Shota asks the class to choose a president. Katsuki tries to get himself elected but ends up losing out to Izuku. Irritated, Katsuki demands to know who voted for him.

During Hero Basic Training Class, Shota informs the class that they will undergo yet another training exercise. However, this time it will be a rescue training event held at an outside facility. The students suit up in their costumes and head out on a bus to the training area. Katsuki is teased by his classmates on the ride there. Denki Kaminari and Tsuyu Asui both comment on Katsuki's repulsive attitude, outraging him.

When the students arrive at the facility, Rescue Hero: Anan Kurose greets them. Katsuki listens to her explanation of how she built the facility and it is named the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. She goes on to lecture the students about using their powers to save people but is ultimately interrupted by the arrival of several villains.

Shota orders the class to evacuate with Anan Kurose, but they're cut off by an ominous villain using his warping Quirk. He introduces himself as Kurogiri of the League of Villains. Katsuki and Eijiro hastily attack the villain, but their attacks don't affect his intangible body. Kurogiri counters by using his Quirk to separate the class into the many different simulation zones. Katsuki ends up with Eijiro in the Ruins Zone.

Together, Katsuki and Eijiro easily defeat the villains trying to ambush them in the Ruins Zone. While discussing what to do next, they disagree on their next course of action. Katsuki wants to defeat Kurogiri and cut off the villains' escape route while Eijiro desires to save his classmates.

A villain tries to take Katsuki by surprise, but he swiftly counters and routs the villain. He reassures Eijiro that their peers can handle themselves against the weak criminals. Eijiro is impressed by Katsuki's calm demeanor, but this only angers Katsuki who claims he's always that way. Eijiro continues by stating that perhaps Katsuki is saying to have faith in their peers, and decides to accompany Katsuki's search for Kurogiri.

They arrive at the central plaza just in time to save the day. Kurogiri almost warps Izuku away, but Katsuki swoops in and blasts the villain while yelling for Izuku to get out of his way. Katsuki pins Kurogiri down by his neck armor and explains that he's already discovered the villain's weakness. Kurogiri's body is not fully intangible, he hides his physical form under the black smoke from his Quirk.

By aiming his attack at Kurogiri's neck armor, Katsuki was able to exploit his weakness. He warns the villain not to move, or else he will blow him to pieces. Tomura Shigaraki orders Nomu to free Kurogiri, and Katsuki is not fast enough to react to Nomu. He is saved when All Might takes the brunt of Nomu's attack, but Kurogiri is freed as a result. Katsuki watches the ensuing battle in awe, where All Might uses his incredible power to defeat Nomu.

Katsuki comments on how intense the situation is and decides to remove himself from the rest of the fight. However, Izuku rushes to All Might's side. Katsuki notices the incredible speed Izuku uses to confront the villains. Izuku and All Might are saved when Tenya returns to the U.S.J. with Pro Heroes as reinforcements. Katsuki is then instructed to leave with the rest of the class and they meet outside the facility. Katsuki continues to wonder about Izuku's Quirk, but is abruptly told by Eijiro to return with the class to school.

U.A. Sports Festival Arc
Two days after the attack on the U.S.J., Katsuki and his classmates return to school and talk about the attack. Minoru Mineta complains about his fear and Katsuki responds by insulting him and telling him to shut up. After Shota returns to class, Katsuki and his peers lectured about the importance of the upcoming U.A. Sports Festival. At the end of the day, Katsuki confronts a mob of students blocking Class 1-A's exit. Katsuki realizes these students must be there to scout their competition for the festival because Class 1-A survived a real villain attack.

He tells the crowd that he is a real future pro for them to move aside, calling them extras. Katsuki is approached by Hitoshi Shinso, who says that although some students may be scouting, he is there to declare war on them. Another student, this time from Class 1-B of the Hero Course Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, yells at Katsuki for being arrogant but Katsuki ignores him and walks away. Eijiro says Katsuki can't leave after making everyone hate Class 1-A. Katsuki does so anyway, saying that the people don't matter and the only thing that's important is that he defeats them all.

For the next two weeks before the festival, Katsuki trains at the Replica City District. When the day of the U.A. Sports Festival arrives, Katsuki changes into his P.E. clothes and prepares with his class in their designated waiting room. Like the rest of his peers, Katsuki overheard Shoto Todoroki challenging Izuku. Katsuki takes exception to this because he feels as if Shoto is declaring war on the wrong person.

Before the festival begins, First Year Chief Referee: Midnight calls Katsuki to the stage to lead the pledge. Instead, he simply announces that he will win the games, angering his fellow competitors and generates boos from the crowd. Midnight announces the preliminaries will be an Obstacle Race four kilometers around the stadium, which immediately begins after the rules are explained. Shoto gets out to an early lead by freezing the stadium's exit, but Katsuki avoids the ice by using his explosions to propel himself past them.

Using his explosions to move through the air, Katsuki flies overtop the villain-bot blockade. He is followed close behind by Hanta Sero and Fumikage Tokoyami. Hanta comments that he expected Katsuki to try and blast through the blockade, and is impressed by Katsuki's strategy. Katsuki reaches the next obstacle soon after: The Fall, a canyon laced with tightropes. Katsuki avoids using the tightropes all together by flying over the canyon completely. After Shoto reaches the final leg of the race: the Mine Field and is forced to slow down, Katsuki finally catches up to him.

Katsuki yells at Shoto for declaring war on the wrong rival, and the two engage in combat as they run for first place. Then suddenly, a giant explosion goes off, propelling Izuku past both of them. Although Katsuki and Shoto momentarily catch back up, Izuku uses a second explosion to stop them for just enough time to cross the finish line first. Katsuki crosses the finish line after Shoto, placing him in third. Katsuki is enraged after losing to Izuku again, but he qualifies for the second round: The Cavalry Battle.

While Midnight explains the rules of the Cavalry Battle, she notes that anyone who knocks other teams down will be disqualified, irritating Katsuki. Having placed third in the Obstacle Race, Katsuki is worth two hundred points for the Cavalry Battle.

While everyone scrambles to make teams for the second round event, many students from Class 1-A try to convince Katsuki to form a team with them. However, he is unable to recall their names or their Quirk's, making them comment negatively on his ego. Then Eijiro Kirishima asks to join but Katsuki forgets his name as well and greets him as "Dumb Hair". After correcting him and pointing out his spiky hair, Eijiro pitches his Quirk's compatibility to Katsuki's. Katsuki says he needs someone with guts and Eijiro replies that they should go after Izuku's ten million points together, exciting Katsuki.

Team Bakugo is formed with Katsuki as the rider and Mina Ashido, Hanta Sero and Eijiro as his horses. After the Cavalry Battle begins, Katsuki flies through the air and tries to attack Team Midoriya, who are flying using a jet pack and Ochaco's Quirk. Katsuki nearly blasts the team, but he's blocked by Fumikage's Dark Shadow Quirk. Unfamiliar with Fumikage, Katsuki is frustrated as he asks what Dark Shadow is. Katsuki falls out of the air, but is caught by Hanta's Tape Quirk.

Soon after, Katsuki's headband is stolen by Neito Monoma from Class 1-B. Neito takes a moment to explain that Class 1-B purposely placed low in the Obstacle Race to scout their Class 1-A Rivals, calling them fools for obsessing for winning over the preliminaries. He continues to taunt Katsuki by recognizing him as the victim from the sludge villain incident. Now absolutely livid, Katsuki explains that his team has a new agenda: to annihilate Team Monoma before they go after Izuku.

Katsuki attacks Neito, but the latter evades and then counters using an explosion of his own. When Katsuki tries to blast him again, Neito uses Eijiro's hardening power to block it. This forces Katsuki to realize that Neito's Quirk is the ability to copy other Quirks. When Katsuki tries to attack again, his team is immobilized by Neito's classmate: Kojiro Bonto. As Team Monoma runs away, Neito takes a moment to taunt Katsuki over his address at the opening ceremony for the festival. This infuriates Katsuki, but his determination to win remains steadfast.

Mina uses her Quirk to free the team and Katsuki uses an explosion to propel himself at Team Monoma. One of their members: Kosei Tsuburaba uses his Solid Air Quirk to repel Katsuki, but only for a few moments. Katsuki punches through the air shield and grabs two of the headbands around Neito's neck as he tries to flee, then Hanta recovers Katsuki using his Tape Quirk. Undeterred by his team's elevation into second place, Katsuki orders his team to continue pursuing Neito. Katsuki claims that he will go after Izuku's ten million points after they recover the headband Neito stole from them.

Katsuki strategically uses his teammates Quirk's to close the distance between the two teams. Kosei tries to stop him, but Katsuki blasts through the air shield and takes Neito's last headband. All Might is impressed that Katsuki understands a truth that no one needed to teach him: "there's a difference between those who aim for the top and those who settle, and that difference matters". Shota comments that although Class 1-B had a good strategy, they failed to take Katsuki's "overwhelming tenacity" into account. Even after securing more than enough points to advance, Katsuki urges his team to go after the Izuku's team.

With only seconds remaining, Katsuki's team joins the fray already brewing between Team Midoriya and Team Todoroki. Katsuki notices that Team Todoroki has secured the ten million points, and damns Shoto for it. Katsuki tries to go after Shoto, but time runs out. Despite placing second in the event and moving onto the finals, Katsuki is extremely frustrated after failing to be the undeniable champion of the round.

During the lunch break, Katsuki secretly eavesdrops on Shoto's conversation with Izuku in the student entrance corridor. Shoto explains that his father created him to usurp All Might, and he plans to win the festival without using his father's power. Katsuki leaves after Izuku replies that he will do his best to defeat Shoto.

Midnight reveals that the finals will be a one on one fighting tournament and everyone draws lots for their matchups. Katsuki is set to face Ochaco, but he fails to recognize her name and questions who she might be.

Katsuki watches the first match between Izuku and Hitoshi Shinso. He becomes nostalgic when Izuku wins using the same shoulder throw he used during the Battle Trial. Denki reminds him of this, Katsuki tells "Sparky" to shut his mouth.

Seven matches later, Katsuki takes to the ring to face his opponent: Ochaco. He warns "pink cheeks" to withdraw from the match because he isn't going to hold anything back. She refuses and starts the engagement by rushing Katsuki. He immediately blows her away with an explosion and repeats that she should've dropped out of the tournament. He blasts her again, only to realize he's exploded only her jacket. She threw it through the smoke as a distraction and nearly gets the drop on Katsuki. Thanks to his incredible reaction time, he's able to blast Ochaco away before she can touch him and use her Quirk to send him out of bounds.

Ochaco continues to rush Katsuki over and over again, and although Katsuki continues to blast her repeatedly, she continues her assault without resting between attacks. The crowd starts to boo Katsuki for being too rough, but Shota calls out the man who starts the uproar. He explains that Katsuki's fierceness is an acknowledgement of his opponent's strength, and he's simply doing everything he can to keep Ochaco at bay so he can come out on top.

As the smoke clears from all the explosions, Ochaco remains undeterred, still standing from Katsuki's barrage. Katsuki keeps his guard up, uneasy that Ochaco "isn't dead yet". This time, rather than dash at him, Ochaco thanks Katsuki for keeping his focus on her. Confused, Katsuki glances up to see a great amount of debris floating high above them. Ochaco kept low to the ground as she moved so that Katsuki's explosions tore up the floor of the ring, creating weapons for her. Then she kept him focused on her by attacking relentlessly, rendering Katsuki oblivious to the impending Meteor Storm.

As she releases her Quirk, causing all the debris to fall down towards Katsuki, Ochaco rushes at him to try and capitalize on an opening. Without any other choice, Katsuki unleashes a large, powerful explosion that repels all the debris, horrifying his opponent as she gets blown away as well.

Katsuki figured Ochaco would have some sort of plan since he now remembered her as being friends with Izuku, and quietly states to himself that this was a close call. Katsuki rushes Ochaco, claiming it is time to get serious. She tries to stand up and fight, but ends up collapsing. He keeps his guard up even as she crawls towards him, but Ochaco ultimately falls unconscious and Katsuki is declared the winner.

On his way to the student section, Katsuki happens upon Izuku in the hallway and is immediately irritated by his presence. He accuses Izuku of providing Ochaco with her "annoying" strategy, but Izuku angrily denies it and says that if the battle was harder than Katsuki had anticipated, then it is because of Ochaco's own plan and not his. Katsuki eventually makes his way back to the stands with his classmates, who tease him for playing the villain in his fight. He angrily tells them to shut up, and Denki comments in disbelief that Katsuki would aim a powerful explosion at a fragile girl. Katsuki sits down and replies that he most definitely would not label Ochaco as frail.

As the match between Izuku and Shoto begins, Eijiro returns from his victory to sit down with his class. Eijiro tells Katsuki that they will fight next, to which Katsuki replies that he'll kill him. Eijiro laughs it off and then sarcastically says it must be nice that Katsuki and Shoto can use attacks that blast the entire stadium. Hanta adds that they also do not need to pause between attacks.

Katsuki calls them morons and explains that just like sprinting drains your breath, Quirks can be worn out because they are physical abilities too. Then Katsuki thinks to himself about his own limits and muses over that he designed his costume so that he could fire off stronger blasts than his body normally allows him to.

Continuing to watch the battle between Izuku and Shoto closely, Katsuki notes that Shoto's movements have become sloppy and assumes the reason behind it is because all the frost forming on his body. Katsuki compares Shoto's Quirk to that of a video game's MP meter. When the match ends, Katsuki is taken back by Izuku's defeat.

As the second round proceeds, Katsuki faces Eijiro in his next match. Katsuki and Eijiro trade blows, but Eijiro's hardened body dampens Katsuki's Explosions while Katsuki's cheek is cut open by Eijiro's hardened punch. Katsuki is forced on the defensive because of Eijiro's defensive abilities, but is eventually able to injure Eijiro after landing a few more explosions.

Katsuki realizes that Eijiro's Hardening weakens through continuous strikes and takes advantage of that by barraging him with a series of explosions. Eijiro's defense eventually gives way and he is knocked unconscious by Katsuki's final blast.

In his semi-final match up, Katsuki duels with Fumikage. He comments that Fumikage's Dark Shadow is annoying and continues to brutalize it using his explosions. Fumikage is forced completely on the defensive as Katsuki's attacks continue to get faster, not giving his opponent any room to counter attack.

After striking Dark Shadow with an explosion in mid-air, Fumikage orders it to grab Katsuki, but he evades and jumps behind them. Then Katsuki uses his stun grenade technique to flood the arena with light and pins down Fumikage by exploiting their weakness of light. Fumikage asks if Katsuki knew his weakness all along, to which Katsuki replies he learned by attacking over and over again. Katsuki admits it was an unfair match up for Fumikage and tells him that he's finished. Fumikage surrenders and Katsuki proceeds to the finals to face Shoto Todoroki.

Katsuki accidentally barges into the wrong waiting room and finds Shoto there. He yells at Shoto for being in the waiting room until he realizes that he's actually entered the wrong room. Shoto doesn't pay Katsuki any mind, much to his irritation. He uses a small explosion to try and intimidate Shoto, saying that he better bring his best to their upcoming bout. Shoto replies that Izuku told him the same thing, and then asks if he was so helpful during their childhood. This greatly annoys Katsuki, who kicks over the table and yells for Shoto to ignore Izuku and his family issues so that he can use his fire during their battle. Katsuki angrily exits the room and states he wants everyone to know he can beat Shoto at full strength. While walking through the hallway Katsuki muses over the thought of bombing the entire stadium in the finals.

The U.A. Sports Festival's finale between Katsuki and Shoto begins soon after. Shoto opens the fight with a large scale ice attack. At first it appears that Katsuki is frozen inside the icy prison, but he endures it by blasting through the ice with his explosions. After freeing himself from the frozen prison, Katsuki says Shoto has powerful attacks, but he also has bad aim and needs to try harder. He rushes Shoto, who attempts to touch him with his right side, but Katsuki uses a small explosion in mid-air to avoid being frozen. Katsuki grabs on to Shoto's left side and throws him away. Shoto recovers by creating a wave of ice that he surfs and sends towards his opponent.

Katsuki tries to blast Shoto, but he avoids and grabs onto Katsuki's arm using his left hand. Instead of burning Katsuki, Shoto simply tosses him away. This only annoys Katsuki, who questions if Shoto feels he's unworthy of his flames. He continues, threatening to kill Shoto and berates him for not giving their match his best. Katsuki demands Shoto use his fire so that he can defeat him at his best and prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the strongest student at the festival.

Shoto mulls over his words until suddenly Izuku starts cheering for him from the crowd. Katsuki notices and comments that Izuku is a stupid nerd before propelling himself in the air. Encouraged by Izuku, Shoto ignites his flames, exciting Katsuki. To counter, Katsuki decides to use his special move: Howitzer Impact. He begins his attack by using small explosions to propel himself in a circular motion and create a twister that surrounds him. However, just as the two superpowers are about to clash, Shoto extinguishes his flames and exposes himself to Katsuki's large scale explosion.

When the smoke clears, Katsuki realizes Shoto did not actually use his fire and has been blasted outside the ring. Unsatisfied, Katsuki runs over to Shoto even though he's unconscious and furiously demands that he get back up because a victory in this manner is meaningless to him. Midnight uses her Quirk to knock Katsuki out and declares him the victor of the battle and first year champion of the U.A. Sports Festival.

When Katsuki awakens he goes ballistic with fury, still angry with Shoto for basically throwing their match. He has to be restrained, muzzled and chained to the champions podium during the closing ceremony for the festival. All Might removes the restraint mask on his face before congratulating him on foreshadowing his victory during the opening ceremony. He notices Katsuki's face is scary thanks to his undeniable rage and tries to give him the gold medal. Katsuki refuses and tells All Might to get that "garbage" away from him because he still hasn't proved he's the best. All Might tries to encourage Katsuki to accept the medal even if it's just as a scar. Katsuki still refuses, so All Might forces it in his mouth.

After the Sports Festival concludes, Class 1-A returns to their homeroom class, where Shota grants them the next two days off. Katsuki is still visually upset with the way he's won. Katsuki remains fuming even until the next day, where he wakes up at noon and angrily brushes his teeth, yelling for his mouth germs to die as his mother shouts at him to stop being loud.

Vs. Hero Killer Arc
Katsuki returns to class two days after the Sports Festival. Shota teaches them about Hero Informatics and reveals the draft results prior to the festival. Katsuki received 3,556 offers from Pro Heroes, second highest in the class behind only Shoto. Denki comments that this is because Pros may have been reluctant to send nominations to a student who needed to be chained up at the end of the festival. Katsuki angrily replies that if a Pro was scared away, than they are just weak.

Midnight joins the class to help them select hero names for their upcoming internships. Initially Katsuki tries to choose King Explosion Murder (爆殺王), but Midnight says it's too violent. While Katsuki re-writes his code name, he notices Izuku chooses Deku as his moniker and is annoyed. Once everyone else is finished presenting Katsuki changes his alias to Lord Explosion Murder (爆殺卿) and Midnight comments that it's basically the same as before.

At lunch time, Katsuki finds himself irritated while listening to the class discuss Izuku's workout regiment. When first day of the internships arrive, Katsuki receives his costume and boards a train to Best Jeanist's agency.

When Katsuki arrives at Best Jeanist's office in Tokyo, Best Jeanist admits that he isn't very fond of Katsuki because of his brutal and aggressive attitude, despite him being talented enough to take on as a sidekick as well as being an outstanding talent. Katsuki is irritated by the No. 4 Pro Hero's lecture and tries to approach him, forcing the Pro to restrain him in threads using his Quirk. Best Jeanist continues, stating that by the end of their time together, he will have transformed Katsuki into an exemplary hero.

The next day, Best Jeanist scolds Katsuki on the importance of a hero maintaining an elegant appearance. He styles Katsuki's wild spiky hair into a neat side part similar to his own. While Best Jeanist's sidekicks believe that the interns new hairstyle is an improvement, Katsuki starts to regret choosing the agency.

After Stain's defeat is published, Best Jeanist explains that the Hosu City incident is all over the news, but reminds Katsuki and his sidekicks that they must remain calm and collected. While Best Jeanist tells everyone that everything will run smoothly as normal, Katsuki, now wearing a pair of smart blue denim jeans in place of his usual baggy black pants, mulls over his poor choice of an internship.

Sometime during the internship, Katsuki goes out on patrol with Best Jeanist. He tells Katsuki that patrolling helps to dissuade villains from committing crimes and asks the boy the if he knows the other important reason for patrolling, to which he answers that if any villains do strike, they can find and beat them up faster and more easily. Best Jeanist says this answer is wrong and corrects him, telling him that the patrols are to show the public who heroes are and give them peace of mind. To emphasize his point, he waves at a group of school girls who recognized him and started to swoon over the No. 4 Hero. Then, a few small children recognize Katsuki from what he believes to be the Sports Festival. However, they actually recall him from the Sludge Villain Incident. This angers Katsuki, who yells at the kids and makes them cry. Best Jeanist asks Katsuki to deal with them properly, but Katsuki ends up intimidating them further.

The internship concludes at the end of the Week and Katsuki returns to U.A. High. His first day back, he is immediately met by Eijiro and Hanta hysterically laughing and making fun of his new haircut. Embarrassed, Katsuki demands that they stop, telling them that his hair had gotten used to its new style and he couldn’t get it to return to its previous style. Katsuki threatens them, but they just continue laughing, telling them that they'd like to see him try and calling him "pretty boy". This nickname causes Katsuki to lash out at them in anger and his hair returns to normal.

During Basic Hero Training, Katsuki immediately declares Izuku will lose but watches the Rescue Training Race and notices Izuku's new abilities are copies of his own movements. Katsuki is greatly shocked and irritated that Izuku improved a great deal while he was stuck wasting his time with Best Jeanist.

Final Exams Arc
One week prior to Final Exams, Eijiro notes that Momo is being virtuous in her studies and suggests that he may join her. Katsuki who came in third in mid-term grades, angrily asks if Eijiro wants him to beat the lessons into his head, as Eijiro states he's counting on it. After lunch, Katsuki overhears Denki and Mina talking about how the practical portion of the finals consists of fighting robotic villains. Katsuki believes they're far too excited and yells at them both, telling them he'd destroy whatever was in the way and they needed to learn to control their Quirks as the scared duo note he is right.

Katsuki turns his attention to Izuku and states that the way the latter is using his Quirk now is pissing him off. Ochaco figures that Katsuki is referring to Izuku's movements, during the rescue training race and how they matched Katsuki's own. Katsuki claims that he doesn't want an empty victory like the U.A. Sports Festival, and says that their personal grades in the upcoming finals will determine their status. Katsuki declares he will the best as he threatens to defeat Shoto as well before he storms out of class. Eijiro notes that Katsuki hasn't been so intense in a while, and Fumikage replies that impatience and hatred have gotten the better of him. As Katsuki walks through the school corridors, Shota notes that Katsuki is getting worse.

In the days leading up to final exams, Katsuki helps Eijiro study. After completing the written portion of the exams, Katsuki and his class meet at the training grounds in their costumes for the practical portion. There, Class 1-A meets with the teachers and Principal Nezu explains that the practical has been changed from fighting robotic villains to being paired together and facing off with one of the teachers. Katsuki is shocked to find out that he and Izuku have been paired together against All Might in the tenth and final match.

Principal Nezu goes on to explain that students can either escape or handcuff their teacher to pass the exam within thirty minutes. All Might adds that the teachers will wear high-density weights to give the students a handicap. Katsuki claims that the teachers are underestimating the students but All Might replies that they will see during their battle. Shota dismisses the students, and Katsuki shuns Izuku to wait for their battle alone.

When the time arrives for their match, Katsuki tries to ignore Izuku while walking through the replica city. Izuku pleads with Katsuki to consider escaping rather than fighting All Might. Katsuki refutes him and says that he will beat All Might himself. Izuku replies that it isn't possible, angering Katsuki enough for him to hit Izuku and demand he stops speaking. Izuku says he's trying to communicate so they can pass, but Katsuki replies that Izuku's power isn't needed in this battle. They begin yelling at each other but are interrupted when a shockwave sent by All Might decimates the city street.

Katsuki notices All Might's malicious presence and notes how intimidating it is. Izuku wishes to run, but despite this Katsuki decides to stand his ground. He uses Stun Grenade to blind All Might but the hero resists and grabs Katsuki's face. Katsuki counterattacks with small consecutive explosions that don't appear to harm All Might and he slams Katsuki into the ground. When he recovers, Katsuki tries to rush All Might but ends up crashing into a fleeing Izuku. After the recoil, Izuku tells Katsuki they need to retreat and Katsuki replies that he will win because that's what heroes do. This prompts Izuku to remember their childhood and how Katsuki admired All Might as a hero because he always won in the end regardless of the situation.

Izuku continues his pleas to no avail and then suddenly All Might pins down Izuku using a guardrail before sending Katsuki flying with a punch powerful enough to make him vomit. All Might approaches Katsuki and says he understands Katsuki's anger is because of Izuku's sudden growth. He continues, saying that Katsuki is stifling his own potential but Katsuki interrupts and says that if he has to work with Izuku, then he'd rather lose. Disappointed with his students reply, All Might prepares to finish him off. Izuku swiftly comes to the rescue and punches Katsuki away, telling him not to say he'd rather lose. Izuku carries Katsuki away down an alleyway until Katsuki makes him stop. He tells Katsuki to at least try working together because saying he'd rather lose is against Katsuki's nature.

Angered, Katsuki blasts the piece of wall next to Izuku's head and says that they can't avoid fighting All Might. Katsuki believes their only chance is to blast him at point blank range with all the firepower they have and then run as fast as they possibly can. When All Might passes by their alleyway, Katsuki makes himself known and blasts All Might from behind. All while struggling to come to terms with his decision to work with Izuku. Once Katsuki gets All Might's attention, he calls for Izuku to appear behind the number one hero, having given him a grenadier bracer beforehand. Izuku pulls the pin from the gauntlet and blasts All Might. He questions how Katsuki has been using such a powerful weapon and Katsuki orders them to run for the escape gate together.

While fleeing, Katsuki notices that All Might destroyed the entire area from their initial entrance to the escape gate earlier. Izuku comments that All Might isn't chasing them and perhaps got knocked out by the explosion. Katsuki tells him that he's an idiot for believing that and gets taken by surprise when All Might suddenly catches up to them with his blistering speed and breaks both of the grenadier bracers. All Might knees Katsuki into a building and grabs Izuku. Katsuki quickly recovers and rushes All Might again, only for him to slam Izuku into him and subsequently pin them both down. While immobilized, Katsuki mulls over All Might's overwhelming power and admits he is the worlds greatest hero.

All Might dissects their earlier plan and states that the fight is over because he's destroyed the grenadier bracers. Katsuki demands he stops talking and blasts All Might with a super explosion similar to the one he used against Ochaco in their Sports Festival fight. Then he grabs Izuku and warns him he's going flying. He throws Izuku towards the escape gate only for All Might to smash him into a nearby bus.

Katsuki rushes over to distract All Might and admits to himself that it was foolish to believe he could best All Might without taking any risks, and uses a second super explosion against him. Izuku moves slowly towards the gate and Katsuki yells for him to hurry. Katsuki continues to blast All Might with super explosions so that Izuku can make for the escape point which would force All Might to stop him. All Might does just that, giving Katsuki the opening they were looking for. However, All Might avoids Katsuki's attack and slams him into the ground. Falling out of consciousness, Katsuki bites All Might's hand and says he refuses to believe that he can't win even if he's up against All Might.

Surprisingly, Izuku does not escape; instead, he rushes back to help Katsuki. Izuku smiles and punches All Might in the face, asking his mentor to move aside. While All Might is suffering from slight recoil, Izuku grabs Katsuki's unconscious body and gets through the escape gate.

Katsuki and Izuku pass the exam and are taken to Recovery Girl's office to receive treatment. Recovery Girl scolds All Might for not restraining himself during the fight. Recovery Girl says that Katsuki likely won't wake up for a while and they should both rest with her. All Might muses over Katsuki's ability to smile in the face of adversity and says that he cannot wait to see how much stronger Katsuki will become much stronger in the future.

Once final exams conclude, Katsuki learns that he passed both portions of the final exams and will attend training camp during the summer. After class, Katsuki's peers decide to go shopping to buy what they need for the camp. Eijiro asks Katsuki to join them, but he refuses.

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
Because he won the U.A. Sports Festival, Katsuki was invited to I-Island and was accompanied by Eijiro.

On I-Island, Katsuki and Eijiro participated in the Villain attraction, in which the former reached first place at fifteen seconds. However, Katsuki notices Izuku and several of his classmates watching from the stands, and, naturally irritated, blasts himself over to Izuku and yells, making a scene. Izuku himself then participates in the game, scoring second place at sixteen seconds, annoying Katsuki as his classmates praise Izuku's skills. He is further pissed off when he sees that Shoto took his spot at fourteen seconds, and angrily interrogates him. Tenya, Eijiro and Izuku arrive to restrain Katsuki before the situation could escalate, the class president yelling that they cannot misrepresent U.A. to the world.

Katsuki is invited to attend the reception party at 6:30 PM, but initially refuses to go because he does not want to listen to adults' speeches and he is unprepared. Luckily, Eijiro brought extra formal clothes for him, so they head for the party. But because they left their cell phones, the two got lost and wandered inside the central tower, unaware that Wolfram and his crew of villains have taken over I-Island.

While walking around the plant factory, Katsuki and Eijiro are confronted by two of Wolfram's minions, Nobu and Daigo. Eijiro tries to explain that they are lost, only to be attacked. Shoto, who was nearby with the rest of his classmates, saves the two with his ice, and explains the situation to them before engaging in combat. Katsuki defeats Daigo with his Howitzer Impact and gets some of his sweat on Nobu, which Shoto ignites with his fire, defeating the villains. Katsuki checks up on Eijiro and thanks him for saving his life, only to be interrupted by a mass of security bots.

They make their way up to the top, and Katsuki saves Ochaco from the security bots, and so they continue repelling the bots before. The wind threatens to throw the floating Izuku and Melissa Shield off course, but Katsuki moves one of the turbines and Shoto uses his flames to push hot wind in their direction, correcting their course.

At the top of the central tower, Katsuki and Shoto arrive in time to save All Might, with the rest of their classmates arriving to help. Impassioned by everyone's willingness to help, All Might breaks free and goes to defeat Wolfram, but the latter demonstrates a second Muscle Augmentation Quirk, confusing him. Izuku kicks the iron prison and saves All Might, and, thanks to Katsuki and Shoto clearing a path, the two heroes use a Double Detroit Smash to defeat Wolfram. Shoto and Katsuki smile in celebration, but the latter turns away and frowns in embarrassment as Shoto noticed.

Katsuki later hangs out with Class 1-A after the I-Island Expo opened.

Forest Training Camp Arc
A day prior to summer break, Izuku invites Shoto and the other boys from Class 1-A to the pool for endurance training. They hold competitive swimming races and Katsuki wins his leg by flying over the pool instead of actually swimming. Just before Katsuki, Izuku and Shoto compete in the final race, Shota arrives and tells them they're out of time to use the pool and kicks them out. Afterward, Katsuki claims he'll never lose to Izuku or Shoto.

Summer break begins and Class 1-A rides a bus to a forest reserve belonging to the hero team: Wild, Wild Pussycats. Pixie-Bob and Mandalay introduce themselves and challenge the students to reach base camp past the forest in three hours. When most of Shoto's peers refuse, he and his class are forcibly thrown into Beast's Forest by Pixie-Bob's Quirk.

A monster created from dirt clods immediately attacks Minoru. Katsuki works together with Izuku, Shoto, and Tenya to defeat it. Class 1-A works together to fight their way through Beast's Forest. They encounter several different dirt monsters. Katsuki and Shoto take one out together, much to Katsuki's displeasure.

Class 1-A doesn't arrive at basecamp for several more hours. Well over their time limit, Class 1-A arrives at the base camp exhausted and battered. Mandalay reveals the time limit was the expectancy for actual heroes, not the students. Mandalay's nephew Kota, punches Izuku in his groin. Katsuki says the boy is precious, and Shoto compares the two to each other. This angers Katsuki and he threatens Shoto until Shota breaks it up. The Pussycats serve the students dinner and the boys bathe in the hot springs afterward.

Training begins the next day. Shota makes an example out of Katsuki by having him throw the ball like he did during the fitness tests. Katsuki expects to toss the ball over a kilometer but only throws it four meters farther. Shota explains that while the students have gotten stronger, their Quirks have not. Katsuki trains by soaking his hands in boiling water to open his sweat glands and then creating a large explosion repeatedly. On the evening of the third day, Katsuki ends up paired with Shoto for the test of courage. He tries to make Mashirao switch partners with him, but Mashirao refuses. Class 1-A students roam the forest while Class 1-B students try to scare them. The duo is slightly shaken by a Yui Kodai and Ragdoll.

The League of Villain's Vanguard Action Squad unexpectedly attacks the training camp during the night. Shoto, who is carrying an injured Kosei Tsuburaba, and Katsuki walk through the forest while trying to avoid the poisonous gas. Mandalay sends out a message using her Telepathy Quirk, telling the students not to engage the invading villains. On their way, they encounter the villain Moonfish. Katsuki asks Shoto which group was ahead of them, to which Shoto answers Fumikage and Mezo. The villain admires a severed arm on the ground and turns his attention to the duo before warning them not to distract him from the flesh.

Mandalay sends a telepathic message to all the students giving them permission to engage in combat. She also informs everyone that Katsuki is one of the villain's targets. Katsuki ignores Mandalay's warning and rushes to attack Moonfish. Moonfish nearly stabs Katsuki with his Quirk enhanced teeth blades, but Shoto blocks it with his ice.

Shoto warns Katsuki not to attack carelessly. Irritated, Katsuki mentions that he gets the feeling Izuku is involved in Mandalay's sudden change of heart. Moonfish nearly stabs Katsuki again, but he evades. Shoto repels him using ice and the villain moves through the treetops using his Quirk. Shoto sternly tells Katsuki not to start fires because they could ignite the forest and kill their own classmates.

Moonfish continues his assault on the tandem from the sky. He rains down teeth attacks that pierce Shoto's ice and nearly strike the boys. Frustrated with his inability to fight back, Katsuki threatens to blast the villain without restraint. Shoto tells him not to and Katsuki angrily tells Shoto to cover the forest with ice should they burn. Shoto replies that a large scale explosion could impair his vision and make it difficult for him to target a fire.

Their battle is interrupted when a berserk Dark Shadow rampages through the forest chasing after Mezo, who is carrying an injured Izuku on his back. Mezo desperately pleads for one of them to provide light to tame Dark Shadow.

Shoto prepares to use his fire, but Katsuki tells him to wait. Moonfish attacks Dark Shadow and is ultimately crushed as a result. Katsuki advises Shoto to wait until Dark Shadow finishes the job and it defeats Moonfish. Immediately following the criminal's demise, Katsuki and Shoto create light with their Quirks to return Dark Shadow to its weaker form.

Katsuki reminds Fumikage that his Quirk is a bad matchup for Dark Shadow. Fumikage thanks the boys for saving him, and then the group decides their next priority is to escort Katsuki back to camp. Katsuki watches in confusion as the group devises a plan to protect him. When they decide on their strategy, Katsuki yells at them and tells them he doesn't need protection. They start to move out as Katsuki continues to complain.

The Bakugo Escort Team eventually reach Ochaco and Tsuyu fighting off Himiko Toga. Izuku recruits them to their mission. The girls question why Katsuki isn't present, forcing the team to realize that Katsuki and Fumikage are missing. Mr. Compress makes his presence known and explains that he took Katsuki with his magic because he'll shine brighter on the villain's side.

Izuku, Katsuki, Shoto, Ochaco and Tsuyu chase Mr. Compress until the boys are able to tackle him out of the air. They stop him at the villains rendezvous point and a battle ensues to decide the fate of Katsuki and Fumikage.

The team is able to rescue Fumikage, but Katsuki is ultimately captured by the Vanguard Action Squad. As his body is reverted from Mr. Compress' Quirk, Katsuki is dragged by his neck by Dabi into Kurogiri's portal. Izuku cries out for Katsuki, only for the latter to nervously reply for Izuku to stay back.

Hideout Raid Arc
The League of Villains kidnap Katsuki and restrain him to a chair. He's surrounded by villains and hidden inside their secret bar. They all listen to a broadcast berating U.A. for allowing one of their students to fall into the hands of the villains. Tomura Shigaraki explains that hero society has been shattered and the villains have gained a victory over Pro Heroes. Tomura suggests that Katsuki join them since he's known for winning.

Tomura asks Dabi to release Katsuki's restraints. Dabi refuses because he knows Katsuki will fight back. He makes Twice do it instead. Mr. Compress apologizes for kidnapping Katsuki in such a violent manner and assures him that the League of Villains is an organized group. Katsuki is relieved of his restraints and he immediately knocks Twice over and blasts Tomura's mask off with an explosion to his face.

Katsuki complains about the villains endless talking and surmises that they just want him to join so they can start trouble. He emphatically states that he loves to win but he'll only win as a hero like All Might and the villains will never change that. Katsuki knows his value to the league and believes he can take some of them out before he escapes. Magne mentions that Katsuki is clever but Mr. Compress argues he should've pretended to be on the villain's side. Katsuki replies that he'll never fake anything he does.

Tomura Shigaraki recovers and orders his allies to stand down. Tomura puts his mask back on and expresses his disapproval of Katsuki's refusal. With no other choice, Tomura asks his master to lend him his power. Katsuki is surprised to learn that Tomura isn't the actual leader and taunts him for it. Tomura orders Compress and Kurogiri to restrain Katsuki again and the young student worries that Kurogiri is too fast for him to fight.

Their confrontation is interrupted by a sudden knock at the door from Kamino's pizza delivery. While everyone is focused on the mysterious knock, All Might breaks in the opposite wall of the hideout behind the villains to take them by surprise. Kamui Woods quickly restrains everyone except Katsuki. All Might apologizes to Katsuki, who refuses to admit he was ever scared.

Before All Might can finish interrogating the villains, a mysterious black liquid transports Nomu into the hideout. They distract the heroes while the black liquid spills from Katsuki's mouth and warps him away before All Might can save him. Katsuki is transported to the Nomu Factory by All For One. All For One helps Tomura start his scheme over again because he deemed Katsuki an important piece of the plan. All Might swiftly catches up to the villains and confronts All For One alone.

Katsuki is shocked the boss villain is able to hold All Might back with his bare hands. All For One repels All Might with a powerful Air Cannon and Katsuki yells out in disbelief. All For One assures him All Might will return and orders his subordinates to capture Katsuki and retreat. The villains surround Katsuki and the young man knows he has to fight to survive.

Katsuki fights the villains six on one, using his explosions to evade their attacks and keep them at bay. He knows the villains are trying to drag him away by force this time and he can't let Compress lay a finger on him. All For One is holding All Might back so Katsuki is on his own. Katsuki keeps his distance from the villains. He knows All Might can't fight at full power with him around.

Izuku, Tenya, and Eijiro suddenly launch themselves into the air high above the battlefield. Eijiro calls out to Katsuki, telling him to come and escape with them. Katsuki listens to his closest friend and uses a giant explosion to propel himself high into the air. He uses a second explosion to soar through the sky and catches up with his fellow students, calling them idiots after he grabs Eijiro's hands.

Compress pursues the group, but Mt. Lady stops him. Gran Torino stops the other villains from chasing the kids and they escape safely. Katsuki times an explosion that helps the group land safely. They escape into the city and Izuku calls Shoto to confirm the rescue was a success. Katsuki argues that he wasn't rescued and only left with them so All Might could fight at max power.

The world watches the epic clash between light and darkness on a public screening. All For One manages to injure All Might and reveals his weak form to the world. Katsuki stares in shock as he finds out his idol has been of his unstoppable image. As All Might stands silently near defeat, Katsuki becomes nervous. He and Izuku both yell out for their favorite hero to fight back and win.

All Might defeats All For One in epic fashion, putting Katsuki's mind at ease. After his victory, All Might delivers an inspiring message saying "you're next". Everyone believes All Might is referring to putting a stop to the other villains but Izuku starts crying dramatically. Katsuki notices the strong difference between Izuku's reaction compared to everyone else.

Katsuki's classmates take him to the police station and he's returned home. After the events of his kidnapping and the fight in Kamino, U.A. decides to transform into a boarding school. All Might and Shota visit the Bakugo household to get Katsuki's parents permission. His mother Mitsuki immediately agrees to the plan and slaps Katsuki across the head for being weak. He yells at her not to hit him but she does it again and yells back. Katsuki's father tells them to stop arguing in front of the teachers but Katsuki tells him to stay out of it.

All Might and Shota ask again if Katsuki's parents are sure about moving Katsuki into a dorm. Mitsuki claims she's grateful for it because she was relieved to hear Shota claim the villains would have no sway on Katsuki at the press conference following the kidnapping. She goes further of how she is happy, they see him for who he is and don't pride him like others did, which is what caused his personality. She knows U.A. will face harsh criticism but claims the Bakugo family will entrust Katsuki to them as they're forever thankful for what they've done.

Afterward, Katsuki follows All Might outside and asks what Deku is to him. All Might claims he's his student just like Katsuki is. Katsuki's disappointed with the answer. Mitsuki tells him not to go outside and Katsuki returns to his home.

Provisional Hero License Exam Arc
Class 1-A moves into Heights Alliance following U.A.'s conversion to a boarding school. Shota introduces his class to their new homes, but first, he confronts them about Katsuki's rescue. He claims everyone but Katsuki, Kyoka, and Toru would be expelled if it weren't for All Might's retirement. The mood over the class becomes gloomy. Katsuki raises everyone's spirits by forcing Denki into his stupid state. Then he repays Eijiro for the night vision goggles he bought for the rescue mission.

Everyone moves into their new dorms and the girls try to host a room king contest. Katsuki thinks its stupid and goes to bed instead. Class 1-A begins training for the Provisional Hero License Exam the next day. Ectoplasm, Midnight, and Cementoss bring the class to Gym Gamma to develop a set of Super Moves for the exam.

Katsuki trains to develop his Quirk by using his explosions to spar with an Ectoplasm clone. He's able to destroy one with a large scale explosion and expresses his joy about being able to let loose again. He demands Ectoplasm give him another clone to fight and continues training. All Might and Shota watch and agree that Katsuki will continue to grow stronger.

A few days later, Katsuki develops a new Super Move. He focuses his explosion into a single point and then fires it off as a concentrated blast. Katsuki develops AP Shot (Armor Piercing Shot) and uses it to pierce a solid slab of stone. A piece of the stone falls close to All Might and Katsuki warns him. Deku suddenly swoops in and kicks the stone to pieces, surprising Katsuki and everyone watching.

Irritated, Katsuki tells All Might to watch himself and storms off with an explosion. The day of the licensing exam arrives and Class 1-A travels to the National Dagobah Arena. Inasa Yoarashi introduces himself to Class 1-A and Katsuki notices he's from the most famous hero course in western Japan, Shiketsu High School.

Ketsubutsu Academy High School students arrive and introduce themselves to Class 1-A. Yo Shindo tries to shake Katsuki's hand and comments he has a strong heart after being at the center of the Kamino Incident. Katsuki refuses Yo's hand and tells him to stop pretending because he can see through his fake facade.

Everyone enters the stadium and Yokumiru Mera explains the purpose and rules of the licensing exam to over one thousand participants from various schools. Only 1% of students can pass the first phase of the exam. Students must use orange balls to tag the three "weak points" that everyone must place on their bodies. The first one hundred students to eliminate two people will advance. Katsuki takes his three targets and puts them in plain view across his waist.

The first phase begins and Izuku suggests that Class 1-A stick together, but Katsuki refuses and goes off on his own. Eijiro and Denki follow Katsuki to a street side area of the arena. Katsuki yells at them both to stop talking and Eijiro replies telling Katsuki to relax. A mound of flesh is thrown at Katsuki and Eijiro throws himself in the way to save his friend. The flesh attack transforms Eijiro into a meatball that lands in Seiji Shishikura's hand.

Seiji starts monologuing about Class 1-A's vulgarity compared to their Shiketsu rivals. Katsuki mentions that he hates Seiji's type but Denki is intimidated. He even taunts Seiji's eyes and Denki pleads with Katsuki to stop provoking him. Seiji activates his Quirk and claims that Katsuki acts in ways that disgrace heroes. Katsuki refutes Seiji's claims and tells him to speak with actions instead of words.

Seiji attacks with flesh bullets and Katsuki counters with his AP Shot: Auto-Cannon Super Move. The violent U.A. student claims he made a weaker version of his Super Move so he doesn't kill anyone. Seiji prepares his next attack and claims he'll break Katsuki's pride so he'll become dignified. Katsuki rushes Seiji and says he'll shut up once he's blown to pieces. Denki reminds Katsuki that they're in the middle of the test and the latter replies that's why he has to kill his Shiketsu opponent.

Denki tries to intervene but ends up missing his target. Seiji taunts him and Katsuki interrupts with an armor-piercing shot. Seiji manages to block the attack and sneaks a piece of flesh onto Katsuki's neck. Before Katsuki is kneaded into a meatball, he throws one of his grenades to Denki. Denki uses the grenade during his fight with Seiji. Denki commends Katsuki for thinking ahead and not putting his teammates in danger.

Denki manages to injure Seiji and he loses his hold on the meatballs. Katsuki and Eijiro return to normal and both deliver the finishing blow. Katsuki berates Denki for taking so long and upsets him. Seiji's other victims return to normal as well. Excited, Katsuki licks his lips and announces they have targets.

Katsuki, Denki, and Eijiro manage to eliminate two people each and pass the exam. They go toward the anteroom and happen upon Izuku, Ochaco, and Hanta on their way. Katsuki says he isn't surprised that Izuku passed and says he's made his borrowed Quirk his own. This shocks Izuku as Katsuki walks by him straight into the waiting area.

All of Class 1-A manages to pass the first test and the arena is transformed into a disaster zone. Before rescue exercises begin, Nagamasa Mora confronts Katsuki along with Inasa and Camie Utsushimi. He asks Katsuki if he met Seiji during the first phase. Katsuki confirms he defeated Seiji and Nagamasa apologizes for Seiji's attitude. Nagamasa claims Seiji can't help projecting his ideals onto someone famous like Katsuki.

The second phase of the exam begins and Katsuki rushes off on his own again. Once again Eijiro and Denki follow him through the arena. They arrive at the mountain area and there are two H.U.C. people asking for help. Katsuki yells at them and orders them to save themselves. They conclude that Katsuki realized they were low priority rescue but dock his points for an inappropriate tone. Katsuki overhears this and scares them with his anger.

Katsuki refuses to help other people that Denki and Eijiro decide to rescue. The exam ends after Denki and Eijiro save the last two people from H.U.C. Everyone meets to look over a presentation board revealing who passed the exam. Katsuki is livid to find out that he failed the exam. He demands Denki let him see his grading sheet. Yokumiru Mera eventually addresses those who failed, which includes Shoto and Inasa as well. Yokumiru reveals that there is a three-month special training course that students can pass to obtain their provisional licenses. Katsuki, Shoto, and Inasa all decide they will participate rather than taking the test again.

That evening, Class 1-A talks about classes starting up again. Katsuki walks past Izuku and tells him to come outside to have a talk about his Quirk. Katsuki reminds Deku that he's always gotten under his skin. Deku used to be a nobody and now Katsuki wants to know how he got into school with a Quirk that appeared out of nowhere. Ever since All Might arrived at U.A., Deku has gotten stronger until finally, he passed the licensing exam while Katsuki failed.

Katsuki asks Izuku if he got his Quirk from All Might. He knows that All For One has the ability to take people's Quirks because he stole Ragdoll's. Izuku met All Might and started growing while All Might lost his power and had to retire. Katsuki brings up the last thing All Might said after beating All For One. He realizes now that Deku was the only one who knew what All Might actually meant by "you're next". More evidence includes the Nomu's multiple Quirks and the relationship between All Might and All For One.

Katsuki tried asking All Might before but didn't get an answer, so now he asks Izuku for the truth. When seeing Izuku doesn't deny anything, Katsuki figures he's correct. Izuku asks what's next and Katsuki tells him that because Katsuki's idol chose Izuku, they must fight to settle things once and for all. Izuku doesn't want to fight and tells Katsuki they can spar in a training room instead. Katsuki reminds Izuku they won't be able to go all out. He wants to see why All Might chose a person like Izuku to inherit his power.

Katsuki wants to know if Izuku's admiration was for better reasons than Katsuki's and if everything he's done to be like him is wrong. He starts stretching and Izuku tries to talk him out of fighting. Katsuki tells Izuku to put his fists up and then remembers that his rival uses kicks now. Kacchan attacks Izuku and nearly blows him up with a right hook. He tells Izuku that he's always overthinking things and to just fight.

Izuku wants to talk things out but Katsuki is infuriated by memories of Deku constantly following him throughout their lives. He attacks until Deku is forced to defend himself and kicks Kacchan back. On the brink of tears, Katsuki asks why he was the cause of All Might losing his strength. Katsuki feels like if he had never gotten captured than All Might would've never had to lose his power fighting All For One. It's been haunting him and this fight is an outlet for him to get his feelings out. Deku recognizes this and accepts Katsuki's challenge.

Izuku kicks Katsuki in the face and declares he won't be Katsuki's punching bag. They've known each other for years but this is the first time Katsuki and Izuku have finally let their feelings out into the open. They connect their hearts through combat as Katsuki relentlessly attacks Izuku without giving him time to think or catch his breath.

Katsuki gets annoyed because he believes Izuku has a plan and is looking down on him. Izuku has always followed him throughout their lives but Katsuki still thinks that Izuku just wants to be better. Izuku is surprised and takes a moment to explain that Katsuki is wrong. His power explodes as he gets emotionally and states that he wanted to see what his amazing friend would become. Izuku delivers an 8% One For All kick that destroys Katsuki's attack, as the former claims that's why he's always chased him.

Katsuki slides back and recovers from his injuries. He thinks on Deku's words and admits to himself that Deku has surpassed him. Both of them go all out and clash their Quirks at full power. Izuku surprises Katsuki with his new level of speed and manages to force him back. Izuku gets riled up and he starts talking like Katsuki. They clash in mid-air and Katsuki believes he has the advantage. However, Izuku fakes a kick and catches Katsuki off guard with a 5% Detroit Smash.

Izuku comes extremely close to getting the best of Katsuki, but he uses all of his power and refuses to lose. Katsuki flips himself on top of Deku and uses a large explosion to crash them both into the ground. When the smoke clears, Katsuki pins down his rival and claims victory. A distraught Katsuki is not comforted, he wants to know how Izuku could lose a fight with All Might's power.

All Might suddenly appears and breaks up the fight, revealing he was watching it happen. Katsuki asks why All Might chose Izuku after the Sludge Villain incident. All Might explains that Izuku's heroism is what garnered him a chance to compete with strong people like Katsuki. Katsuki replies that he's weak too and that it's his fault All Might lost his power. All Might embraces Katsuki and tells him that One For All was always going to fade regardless of what happened. All Might apologizes for focusing too much on Katsuki's physical strength.

All Might tells the boys that needing to be the best and wanting to save others are both key to becoming a great Pro Hero. He advises them to learn from each other and grow into heroes that can win by saving people and save people to win. Katsuki knows All Might is right and tells Izuku not to lose anymore with All Might's power.

Katsuki asks who knows about All Might and Deku and the former says out of the students only Katsuki knows the truth. Katsuki promises to keep it a secret and the two heroes thank him. Katsuki claims that it would just be a pain if the truth got out. All Might explains to Katsuki about the whole truth about One For All, his injury, and how he chose his successor.

All Might leads them both out of Ground Beta and reminds Katsuki it's not his fault. Katsuki claims that his goal to become a hero that surpasses All Might hasn't changed. Katsuki tells Izuku that he's going to absorb knowledge from his classmates and surpass even the chosen one. Izuku claims that he'll climb even higher and this irritates Katsuki. They start arguing about surpassing each other and All Might recognizes that they've evolved into proper rivals now.

When they return to Heights Alliance, Shota restrains them both with his scarf and scolds them for fighting. All Might tries to get his colleague to calm down but he still issues four days house arrest to Katsuki and three to Izuku. They must clean all the rooms and write a written apology on the last day of their punishments.

The next morning, Katsuki's classmates berate the duo for fighting. Already irritated, Katsuki gets even more annoyed when Shoto inquires about their extra classes. After everyone else leaves, Izuku asks Katsuki what he thinks about Shoot Style. After a small pause, Katsuki calmly tells Izuku that his movements are too obvious and even when he got faster his attacks were readable. He also adds that Izuku's punch irritated him. This is the first time that Katsuki and Izuku have a normal conversation with each other.

Shie Hassaikai Arc
After his recent fight with Izuku, Katsuki still spends one more day of his house arrest. Katsuki feels irritated that he's still a few days behind his classmates, especially Izuku. However, Katsuki eventually returns to his class and resumes his daily lessons. For the following days, Katsuki and Shoto both go out of their dorms to retake the Hero License Exam, with Shoto constantly reminding the former to catch up with their other classmates.

Remedial Course Arc
The day after the work study group return to Heights Alliance, Katsuki and Shoto retake the Hero License exam with Inasa and Camie. While there, they have to reach out to a group of unruly children with their hearts. Katsuki accurately deduces that there is a leader among the children who sets the mood for them to be rebellious. During all of this, Katsuki meets a young boy who has a similar attitude towards everything. Katsuki then advises him to not look down on others because then he would never acknowledge his own weaknesses. Katsuki ends up passing his exam alongside the others.

Eijiro requests for Katsuki to train with him since he wants to test his limits. Katsuki ignores him and asks Izuku if he has made any improvements in his Quirk but Izuku states he has not. Katsuki berates him for his lack of initiative, as he brings up Izuku's promise to surpass him before he leaves. He then takes Eijiro upon his request.

U.A. School Festival Arc
At U.A. High School, Class 1-A chooses to make a band and dance performance for the U.A. School Festival. While walking outside, Katsuki overhears the Department of General Education talking about his class's performance for all of them. The Department of General Education students are taken aback by their arrogance even when they start all the conflict.

Back in Class 1-A's Heights Alliance, Tenya is busy helping plan Class 1-A band and dance performance. Kyoka Jiro suggests club rock and asks if anyone can play instruments such as drums. Denki Kaminari remembers Katsuki having experience in playing drums which Hanta Sero agrees to. Katsuki refuses to as Hanta mocks Katsuki's inability to do so. Katsuki grabs some drum sticks and starts playing the drums proficiently. Katsuki's performance impresses Kyoka who wants him to play the drums. Katsuki begins walking away while expressing his disinterest.

Katsuki also expresses his discontent with Class 1-A presenting the band and dance performance as a stress reliever, believing people who sicken him do not deserve his courtesy, and states that all they are doing is indulging the other students. Tenya and Momo Yaoyorozu take Katsuki's views into consideration as Shoto Todoroki points out that Katsuki should not speak ill of them as he hasn't even partaken in the conversation. Katsuki tells them that they do not fight villains because they enjoy it and likewise they should not consider people's feelings for a band and dance performance; if they are going to do a band and dance performance, they should do it for the sake of it and not please or help people. Katsuki announces that he will blow everyone away in U.A. with his sound. Some of Class 1-A are surprised by Katsuki's willingness to participate; Kyoka also decides to do her best.

Joint Training Arc
Katsuki spots Izuku speaking to All Might and decides to get answers. He surprises the pair and tells them that their secret talks would get them caught and asks about Izuku's Quirk and discovers it activated on its own. He questions if Izuku has truly made it his own since he intends to prove himself stronger than before getting annoyed by Izuku smiling at his challenge.

Before the battle, Katsuki and his team discuss their strategy for the fourth round of the Joint Training Battle. Katsuki wanted to take the lead and charge ahead with the others serving as back up. He tells Kyoka to pick up on the sounds coming from the Class 1-B team and to figure out their location. When Hanta spoke up against this, Katsuki mocked him and says that if they do not make the first move it is over for them. He says that they do not have time to take caution, they have to act immediately. Leading his team, Katsuki has them keep up and orders Kyoka to forget about listening to the sounds, to their annoyance his behavior.

While surveying on his own, Katsuki believed he spotted Class 1-B and had Kyoka use her Quirk. She proceeds to do so and says that all the Class 1-B team members should be nearby and to go find them. Upon further use of her Quirk, she yells to her teammates that it's a trap. Setsuna appears behind Katsuki and says that his time is up and proceeds to attack him with her Quirk.

It is revealed that Setsuna's Quirk is Lizard Tail Splitter. With her Quirk, she is able to split her body into several pieces and move them. At the moment she is able to divide her body up to 50 different parts depending on the length. Katsuki gets bombarded by Setsuna's Quirk and notes that while their strength does not amount to much, they annoy him because they are too small of targets.

Soon Katsuki evaded her and arrived to help his teammates. The explosive hero stops Rikido from sacrificing himself by destroying the glue-covered pipes and barricade with his explosion while still being relentlessly assaulted by Setsuna's lizard parts. With the barricade gone, Togaru dives towards the Class 1-A team to attack them with Setsuna telling him to take care of Kyoka first since she is the most troublesome. Just as Togaru is about to land a fatal blow on her, Katsuki intercepts him and hits him with a powerful explosion at point-blank range.

Blasting Togaru away, Katsuki takes command again by declaring to his team that they're going to score a perfect victory by ending the match in a 4-0 with everyone unscathed. After being told that Kyoka is receiving interference, Katsuki blasts forward with full speed.

However, this allows Yosetsu Awase to reveal himself and detained Katsuki with his newly developed Super Move "Construction-Done-Kwik: Weldcraft". Struggling to break out of Yosetsu's trap, Katsuki witnesses Rikido Sato arrive to free him with his Sugar Rush Super Move. Now released, Katsuki proceeds to chase after Yosetsu, who then tries to protect himself by attaching multiple steel plates to his body. It is revealed Katsuki deceived him by blasting upwards, only for Hanta and Kyoka to stun Yosetsu with a combined attack.

Pleased by this, Katsuki shows confidence in his allies, as he locates Kojiro making himself an open target. Setsuna and Kojiro attempt to ambush Katsuki, but he manages to knock down the latter with a powerful explosion. While his comrades are revealed to have successfully restrained their opponents.

Directed by Kyoka, Katsuki heads towards the remaining members of 1-B. After locating Togaru, Katsuki engages in combat with him, before he manages to defeat Togaru with a fiery Super Move, while a recovering Setsuna notices one of Katsuki's grenades attached to a spare part. This gives Class 1-A an advantage as they notice an explosion from a not-so-far distance. Just as Setsuna believes that she avoided getting caught, Katsuki catches her off-guard by firing off a Point-Blank Stun Grenade directly at her body. Setsuna commends Katsuki for how much he changed as she gets caught in the explosion. The explosive hero replies back that he hasn't changed a bit as he still retains his main goal of becoming the No. 1 Hero that surpasses All Might.

Returning to the rest of his class, Katsuki is commended by Shota for his leadership, cooperative nature, exceptional mobility as well as combat ability. Katsuki then notices All Might, who compliments the explosive hero's outstanding performance. Shrugging this off, Katsuki is approached by Izuku who praises Katsuki's accomplishment, in which he tells Izuku to hurry up and show some improvements at least.

While witnessing Izuku's team battle, Katsuki is shocked by Izuku using a new Quirk.

After the training, he, Izuku, and All Might gathered in the lounge to discuss Izuku's sudden Quirk and the One For All predecessor who possessed it. Katsuki asks All Might how he knew about the black tendrils, but All Might admits that he too was in the dark about it until Izuku filled him in. All Might wonders about the bald predecessor and the fact that One For All is capable of letting Izuku use previous wielders' Quirk, saying that his master, Nana Shimura, probably didn't know that this was a possibility either. Katsuki asks Izuku if there was a trigger that caused Blackwhip to manifest, but the latter denies this, explaining that he was only told that ‘the time has come' and wondering if there could've been some form of external catalyst.

Katsuki then asks if this turn of events has anything to do with All For One, explaining that it would make sense as he was the person who created One For All in the first place and he can also possess multiple Quirks. To test Izuku's activation, All Might has Katsuki and Izuku engage in a sparring match at Gym Gamma. During the match, Katsuki questions Izuku on why he hasn't activated his Blackwhip ability, in which the latter reveals that it apparently can't be unlocked as of now. All Might immediately halts the match for the sake of discussing more of Izuku's current development. Katsuki points out that Izuku's black tendrils only appear whenever he's put into mortal danger.

At the dorms of U.A., he is present when Class 1-B comes to socialize with Class 1-A and overhears Shoto question Izuku on his second Quirk. He notes on Shoto's oblivious nature to Izuku's Quirk.

Meta Liberation Army Arc
During the early morning of December, Katsuki and Shoto left for the final lesson of the provisional license course. He is seen eager to obtain his license when Gang Orca and his sidekicks prepare to carry out the final lesson for those present, stating that if they succeed. Eventually, they pass the exams and obtain their licenses.

While out on the streets with All Might, chaos breaks out in the city because of villains stealing from the public. Katsuki and Shoto were eager to intervene while All Might tells them to analyze the situation before leaping into action. The students tell him they can handle it. All Might tries to dissuade them since they’ve only just earned their provisional licenses, but they pay no heed and attack the villains nonetheless, making use of their new privileges.

Shoto creates an ice wall to stop the villains, but their leader breaks through the ice with his carbonation control Quirk, and calls for his gang to run away. Katsuki swiftly knocks out several villains without damaging the stolen items. However, the villain leader fends Katsuki off using high powered jets of carbonated liquid from his gauntlets. Katsuki blasts away a light pole and prevents it from hitting a careless bystander and All Might, and angrily reprimands the former.

Shoto uses his Flashfreeze Heatwave technique and knocks out the leader, angering Katsuki as that was the same move he used on Izuku during the Sports Festival. Katsuki confirms that none of the stolen belongings were damaged and that no bystanders were hurt. All Might, accompanied by Slidin' Go, praise the boys' actions, and they notice that the villain's gauntlets have exploded and disintegrated. Slidin' Go notes that that is expected from inferior black market products.

Later, Katsuki and Shoto returns to the dorms and finds out that it's dark and quiet. Then they got a surprise from Class 1A, congratulating them for getting their licenses. Izuku is excited that they'll do hero work together, but it irritates Katsuki.

My Hero Academia: Heroes: Rising
During fall, the Hero Public Safety Commission devises the Hero Work Recommendation Project, to help to train the new generation of Heroes due to All Might retirement. Weeks go by, and shortly after winter begins, after the Hero Interview Training, Class 1-A is sent to Nabu Island, a remote place in southern Japan. The Pro Heroes who protected the island are about to retire, so the students will take care of the place, performing duties as real heroes acting like their own "Hero Office", until the arrival of new Pro Heroes.

Because Nabu Island is quite isolated from the rest of the country, and therefore far from any villain activity, there has been no notable incident since the last thirty years. For this reason, their work on the island basically involve mostly minor deeds. Because of this, Katsuki hasn't done any work upon arriving on the island, and chooses to stay at U.A. Agency, waiting for an actual villain to show up.

One night, Katsuki sees Izuku training while coming back from his patrol, and tells him to hurry up and master his Quirk. They have an exchange over who will be the No. 1 Hero before it's interrupted by Katsuma Shimano. The young boy tells them a villain has appeared. Izuku is surprised by the presence of a villain before Katsuki pushes him aside, demanding Katsuma to explain himself better.

Katsuki rushes over to where Katsuma said the villain is located, carrying the little kid and being followed by Izuku. Katsuma tells him he saw the villain at the ancient castle ruins located in Mount Shiroyama, on a smaller island next to Nabu. Katsuki arrives on scene first to confront the villain: a giant praying mantis wreaking havoc on the side of the hill. Katsuki uses Stun Grenade to blind it, but he notices something wrong and stops attacking. Izuku arrives shortly afterward and sees the praying mantis attacking Katsuki, but it phases through him. Katsuki generates a huge explosion that makes Mahoro Shimano fall from her hiding place. The giant mantis disappears, confirming Katsuki's suspicions that the monster was fake because there was no shadow beneath it. The creature was created by Mahoro's Quirk: Hologram.

An infuriated Katsuki shouts to the girl if she is mocking him, and says that he is aiming to be the next Number 1 hero, so he doesn't have time for pranks. Izuku restrains Katsuki out of fear that he may hurt the kids, and Mahoro and Katsuma scurry out of there while Katsuki struggles to get Izuku off him. The next morning, Katsuki overhears Katsuma apologizing to Izuku, and learns that Mahoro thinks that hero work is dangerous, so she wants to discourage him from becoming one. He also listens to how Mahoro and Katsuma's mother passed away when they were young and that their father is always working, which is why Mahoro is overprotective of her brother.

Later in the day, Katsuki picked up the phone in Class 1-A's hero office, and hears Mahoro trying to warn them that villains have arrived. Katsuki doesn't believe her and tries to hang up, but Izuku takes the phone to listen, only for the phone service to be cut off. After word spreads that villains have indeed invaded Nabu Island, Katsuki, Eijiro, and Denki head over to the shopping district to intercept the villain. The three rescue Yuga and Minoru just in time, and engage against Mummy and his mummified puppets.

During the battle, Mummy manages to wrap his bandages around Katsuki and control his costume. He proves too powerful for Eijiro and Denki, but Katsuki detonates one of his Grenadier Bracers and frees himself. He swiftly dodges Mummy's attacks and knocks him out by releasing a powerful explosion at point blank range. He then heads off to find more villains.

Katsuki notices a beacon in the form of an illusion of Izuku created by Mahoro, and engages combat with Nine. He finds out about Nine's multiple Quirks, comparing him to All For One. With this in mind, Katsuki outsmarts the villain and tries to attack close up, but is caught by surprise and pinned down by Nine's Hydra Quirk. Izuku recovers and tries to attack Nine, but he and Katsuki are hit by a massive lightning strike summoned by Nine, which also caused a major blackout throughout Nabu Island.

Nine goes after Katsuma and Mahoro, but then suffers from his cell degeneration disease and is unable to continue fighting. Slice arrives to help Nine and attempts to take Katsuma, but is distracted by a swarm of crows summoned by Koji Koda. While the villains are distracted, Mezo, Ochaco, and Tsuyu take the wounded Izuku and Katsuki and the children to safety.

While they were unconscious, Katsuki and Izuku were being unsuccessfully healed by the doctors before Katsuma joins in and accelerates their healing using his Cell Activation Quirk. After regaining consciousness, Katsuki and Izuku join their class, surprising them. Izuku tells Katsuma that he has an amazing Quirk and should not give it up to the villains, while Katsuki tells the class that all they have to do is crush the villains.

Inspired by their words, Class 1-A unanimously agree to fight to protect the island. After devising a plan, Class 1-A await the villains on Mount Shiroyama the next morning, with Katsuki insisting that they will definitely win.

As Nine defeated several students on his way to Katsuma, Katsuki and Izuku intercepted the villain, and fight him in a way that would make him overuse his Quirks, weakening him. During a barrage of Delaware Smash Air Force and AP Shots, Katsuki catches Izuku midair and launches him back at Nine with an Explode-A-Pult.

Katsuki and Izuku have a hard time fighting against Nine's Air Wall and Bullet Laser Quirks and are knocked into a wall, but seemingly find an opening when he starts stumbling, indicating his disease taking effect. However, Nine takes a heavy dose of an empowering drug and summons a massive lightning strike, seemingly vaporizing Izuku and Katsuki. Unbeknownst to the villain, Denki Kaminari acted as a lightning rod and absorbed the lightning, so the two survived.

Izuku and Katsuki arrive just in time to save Katsuma and Mahoro from Nine, and overwhelm him with a combination of attacks. On the verge of defeat, Nine uses up the last of the drugs in his life-support system, and summons a massive fire tornado and lightning storm with his enhanced Weather Manipulation Quirk. Izuku boosts his Quirk to reach 100% and uses his Detroit Smash, while Katsuki uses his Howitzer Impact, but the two are not strong enough to stop Nine. Nine severely wounds Izuku and Katsuki, and begins to crush them with his Hydra Quirk.

In an act of desperation, Izuku makes a daring gamble and transfers One For All to Katsuki. By doing so, the both of them are able to break away from Nine's grip. Katsuki asks if Izuku is okay with letting his dream go like this, and he responds that there is no other way to save and win. The infuriated Nine attempts to kill them by summoning a massive storm, but the two heroes stop the tornado by using Detroit Smash at 100%. Nine is astonished, but refuses to give up, and engages an intense battle with Katsuki and Izuku. Katsuki uses Explosion in conjunction with One For All to weaken Nine, and, after a lengthy battle, defeat Nine using Explosion and a St. Louis Smash. Both of them pass out, and the last embers of One For All are extinguished in Izuku.

However, One For All still retained itself inside Izuku. Upon waking up, Katsuki gets amnesia and doesn't remember using One For All, and is angrily confused at why his arms are busted up. He is healed by Recovery Girl, and stays with his class to repair the damage done on the island until the Public Safety Commission suspends the program and orders them to be sent home. With the island being repaired by the military and the heroes, Class 1-A boards a ferry to leave. As they leave, they see Katsuma and Mahoro, who are reunited with their father, saying their goodbyes to Class 1-A. Katsuki hears Katsuma's promise that he will get stronger and Izuku telling him that he will be waiting for him at U.A. High School.

Endeavor Agency Arc
At Class 1-A's dorms, both Katsuki and Shoto are interviewed for their outstanding hero behavior during the time when they both took out the wannabe villains. Katsuki is particularly irritated when a reporter asks if Katsuki and Shoto are good friends and when Shoto casually confirms it.

Afterwards, Katsuki appears irritated that the interview staff had cut him out from the interview. Some of his classmates laugh off at the interview only showing Shoto's face instead of Katsuki's. His classmates remark on the no surprise with his behavior. Later on, Katsuki shows disgust over Izuku being happy about his slow development of Blackwhip.

Over the next several days, the Hero Work Recommendation Project takes place. Shortly after returning from Nabu Island, Katsuki and the rest of Class 1-A celebrate Christmas with a party before they go over the topic of the impending Work-Studies, Katsuki is asked by Eijiro if he is heading back to Best Jeanist, to which he replies that he still does not know, while remembering the news about Jeanist's disappearance.

Katsuki soon remembers when he did his Hero Agency Internship with him and when Best Jeanist asked him about his hero name and told him that an alias represents what he wants to be and what he ought to be, so he asks him that when he become a second-year student and received his Provisional Hero License, return to him and tells him his name. After the party is over, Katsuki and Izuku are approached by Shoto who overheard that they have no where to go for their Work-Studies. Shoto asks them if they would be interested in coming with him to intern at his father's agency.

Katsuki and the others meet with Endeavor, the current number one hero doesn't hesitate to tell him or Izuku that he only accepted them because his son asked him to, and he would have preferred Shoto to come alone. Hearing this, Katsuki bluntly insults the pro hero who is quite irritated but thinking back to how All Might compared him and Endeavor, Katsuki tells him that he is looking forward to the training since he is number one among the heroes. Suddenly, Endeavor runs off saying that he won’t be wasting time training others than Shoto, telling them that if they want to learn then stay behind him, only to be surprised to see them already in their gear, ready for action. Katsuki hears Endeavor repeat his order to stay behind him. A sonic boom goes off in the city while the boys try to keep up with their new employer. Katsuki complains that Endeavor took off before anyone even noticed the commotion, which takes more than just speed and the hero berates him for not having the fortitude required.

They found that a villain known as Starservant is causing panic with his manipulation Quirk. Endeavor's intervention forces the villain to flee flees down an alley and calls his minions, being chased by Endeavor. When they come out of the other end, Starservant's minions are ready to attack. The next moment, Izuku and Katsuki take on the minions directly. However, in an even faster flash, Hawks appears and effortlessly dispatches them with his feathers.

After the villains are arrested, Hawks briefly chats with the three interns with Katsuki is not too fazed at meeting the second best hero and complains about him taking the action. Endeavor asks Hawks what he wants, to which Hawks deflects the question completely before promoting the Paranormal Liberation Front's book. Seeing how Japan's No. 2 hero recommends the book, Izuku expresses his desire to read it too, and Hawks gives him, Shoto and Katsuki extra copies that he carried with him, before leaving.

Once they arrive at Endeavor Hero Agency, Katsuki meets several of Endeavor's Sidekicks, who give them a hot welcome. After Izuku notices that the place is busy with their large number of requests, Katsuki wants to start training now, but the sidekick tells that they have to wait for Endeavor's orders, who has gone to his office to read the book Hawks gave him. After a while, he leaves his office and tells three students that he will train them personally.

In the agency's gym, Endeavor asks his trainees what they want to achieve. Izuku says wants to be able to control his power and use it with maximum performance. Endeavor recalls that he has a super-strength Quirk that is powerful but self-destructive. Katsuki is confused on how Endeavor understands Izuku's muttering.

After listening to Katsuki and Shoto, Endeavor starts the Work-Studies. He explains that his agency is governed by three fundamentals: Rescue, Evacuation, and Battle. With his training, they will make these processes their M.O. Endeavor ends the lesson by telling Izuku, Shoto, and Katsuki that, during the winter break, their task is to beat a villain faster than him, even if only once.

During the following days, the three students try to surpass Endeavor's test, but the veteran hero always manages to catch the villains before them. Endeavor does not hesitate to criticize them, telling them in what facets they need to improve.

A week later, Endeavor brings Shoto, Izuku, and Katsuki over to his house for dinner per his daughter's suggestion. Dinner starts well, but Katsuki becomes irritated with Izuku praising the food Fuyumi Todoroki cooked, but things ended up being quite awkward, due to the complicated relationship between Endeavor and his children, and specifically due to Natsuo Todoroki's resentment towards his father, and after he finishes, he quickly leaves, unable to sit near his father. Katsuki is also aware of the situation, and when he asks him if he knew about Shoto's past, to which he reveals he was listening when the two of them were talking during the Sports Festival.

Although it is clear that Endeavor regrets what he did and now tries to do his best for his family, it's hard for his children to forgive him. Izuku tells Shoto that he feels he's getting ready to forgive Endeavor, as he feels that if Shoto truly hated him, it would be fine to not forgive him, but Izuku voices his thoughts on that Shoto is a very kind person waiting for the right moment.

Fuyumi and Shoto tell Katsuki and Izuku about Toya, and how close he was to Natsuo, to the point he blames Endeavor for Toya's death. Fuyumi then says that an incident occurred after their mother was hospitalized, which only made things worse. Although family relationships have improved a lot, there are still many wounds to heal. Endeavor then comes in and tells the three of them that he'll be taking them to U.A. High School. As the three of them thank Fuyumi for the meal, Fuyumi thanks Izuku for being Shoto's friend.

While Endeavor's chauffeur drives them back to the U.A, Endeavor tells the boys that they will have to keep going to his Agency to continue the training on weekdays and weekends if their schedule allows. Just then a villain appears in the middle of the road, holding Natsuo as a hostage and calls out Endeavor to come to face him. Endeavor leaps out the car to save his son. The villain introduces himself as Ending, is obsessed with Endeavor and wants him to kill him.

Ending takes a step back when he sees the interns, giving Endeavor an opportunity to attack the off-balance villain. However, when he sees Natsuo being held in front of Ending, Endeavor slows down, not wanting to endanger him, and allowing the three students to pass him in order to rescue Natsuo and defeat the villain. Disappointed, Ending threats to increase the death toll if the Flame Hero doesn't kill him, sending several incoming cars into the air. He also puts Natsuo directly in the path of a car but Katsuki rescues him in an instant

As Natsuo is held in the grasp of Ending, Katsuki successfully condenses and releases his Quirk while declaring that there will be no corpses if he can help it. With Natsuo safe, Katsuki watches Shoto attack Ending and defeats. Katsuki is then caught in the embrace of Endeavor and Natsuo after the hero is relieved about his son.

After escaping Endeavor's embrace and subduing Ending, Katsuki boasts about the fact that they managed to subdue a villain faster than Endeavor, but to Katsuki's surprise and annoyance, Endeavor doesn't object to Katsuki's statement, actually complimenting him and the other two for their speed and picking up his slack. He stands awkwardly as Endeavor and his son talk. Later, when Ending is taken by the authorities, Natsuo thanks Katsuki and asks for his hero name. Izuku assumes it's just Katsuki, but his childhood friend says it's not and that he's already chosen a hero name. Izuku is curious to know what it is, but Katsuki refuses to reveal it, telling Izuku to go fall in a hole, adding that there's someone else he has to tell first.

My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission
Sometime during the two months prior to the Paranormal Liberation War, Endeavor takes his three Work-Study trainees to a facility after being contacted by the World Heroes Association to recruit some of his interns to boost their numbers for a secret black-ops mission in sense of a growing international threat.

Once there, the Flaming Hero and representatives of the World Heroes Association explain to them they will put on a test to see if they are fit to participate in a mission of global scale. To achieve it, they will face against Endeavor and they all must land an attack on him in a 3-minute limit to pass the test. Katsuki was super-hyped that he can finally challenge the No. 1 Hero.

The test begins and the three students attack Endeavor. Katsuki tries to go for an attack from above because of Endeavor;s blindspot, but Endeavor just blasts him away, with Katsuki noting his incredible reflexes. He was also surprised that Endeavor easily defeated Shoto's sneak attack. He, Izuku, and Shoto then try to attack him at the same time, but Endeavor just blasts them all away with his Hellflame Quirk. The examiners ask the hero to go easy on the students as they don't expect them to be a match for him, but Endeavor replies to them not to underestimate his trainees. The three students get up, and after trying again, they each manage to hit Endeavor.

The three of them pass, but Katsuki was frustrated because he didn't get the chance to defeat Endeavor before the timer went off. Due to the nature of the mission they are going to participate in, they are taken to a room where they can create stealth-oriented suits. Izuku gets too excited and wants a cape like All Might's, but also worries he's not worthy of one. Annoyed at his attitude, Katsuki berates him for the idea of wearing a cape on a stealth mission.

After designing their own custom stealth costumes, they learn that Flect Turn, the leader of the terrorist organization, Humarise, has detonated a bomb that contains the chemically-enhanced Trigger known as Ideotrigger in a major city, killing millions and destroying the entire infrastructure. In response to the act of terrorism, the WHA mobilizes the largest anti-terror joint task force, with Endeavor as the leader of their unit. Since the nature of the entire operation is strictly off-books clandestine, they must refrain from asking for help from local law enforcement. The Heroes of the Endeavor Agency, including Izuku, Katsuki, and Shoto, join the secret covert black-ops mission to the capital city of Otheon, where the main headquarters is located and to apprehend the leader, Flect Turn. Once the operation begins, the heroes attack Humarises' forward operating bases in Otheon via HALO jump. Endeavor himself leads the first team with Clair Voyance to locate the bombs, while a second team, in which the trainees are in, is charged with apprehending the members and their leader. Based on his experience with Izuku due to him being Quirkless before, Katsuki utilizes Stun Grenade to blind the members as Shoto freezes them to immobilize their movement despite being annoyed of Shoto's word of caution. The first team fails to locate the Trigger bombs and the secondary team fails in locating Flect Turn. With no exact information on the bombs or the leader, the Otheon team is placed on standby.

As the lowest ranking members of the team, Izuku, Shoto, and Katsuki were making some errands for the heroes, much to Katsuki's annoyance and frustration. They discuss about Humarise and their fanatical paranoia about the Quirk Singularity Theory when a jewel robbery is being commenced nearby. Izuku, Shoto, and Katsuki spot the robbery and respond quickly. The villains saw them and split up with Katsuki chasing after the Bomb Villain, who uses his Fire Cracker Quirk to propel himself, while Izuku and Shoto go after the Gale Villain. In another area, the Bomb Villain decides to attack Katsui to get rid of him, throwing pieces of his afro and sparkles at him that cause an explosion. The villain thinks he has defeated the young hero, when he suddenly hears him mocking his blast. Looking up, he sees him falling towards him, boasting that he's going to show him what a real blast looks like. With a powerful explosion, Katsuki defeats the robber, who ends entangled in clotheslines.

After the robbery fiasco, Katsuki returns to the Otheon team's headquarters with Endeavor reprimanding them for disobeying direct orders to standby and instead chase after a petty robbery. Right as Izuku contacted them, Clair brings them to the television where the news agency publicly announced to the world that Izuku is accused of mass murder of twelve people, much to his, Shoto's and Endeavor's shock. Shoto later receives a hard coded message from Izuku telling him that he is heading to the neighboring country of Klayd, a place where the Otheon has no jurisdiction, so he joins Shoto in their journey, only to be delayed by evading the Otheon authorities who are tailing right behind them. After evading the authorities, the two board the train to the Otheon-Klaydian border and recap the whole situation, coming to the conclusion that during the chase, Rody and Izuku mistakenly took a briefcase related to Humarise, thinking it was the one with the jewels, and that the reason why the police persecute them is because several of its members are allied with the criminal organization.

Shoto and Bakugo arrived at the border where Izuku and Rody are being attacked by Humarise agents Beros and Sidero. Shoto saves Rody's life and defeats Sidero. With only the helicopter remaining, Katsuki attacks with his AP Shot: Auto-Cannon, damaging the chopper.

On the ground, the trapped Sidero is willing to surrender to Shoto in exchange for telling him everything he knows about Humarise and the briefcase, but Beros shoots several explosive arrows at him to punish him for his betrayal. After this, she continues facing Katsuki, who chases the helicopter through the air using his Explosions to propel himself and move through the air. Thanks to the great skill and control he has over his Quirk, Katsuki manages to dodge and destroy all the arrows she fires at him, until her quiver is empty. Bakugo reaches the helicopter and orders her to surrender, since she is out of arrows plus the chopper is out of control due to the damage received during the battle. However, Beros chooses to commit suicide and jumps out of the helicopter into the chasm, right before it crashes.

Once the battle is over, Izuku meets with Shoto, Katsuki, and Rody, and catch up on the situation. Izuku realizes that the battle caused a secret compartment in Alan's briefcase to open. After getting far enough away from the battlefield, they find the compartment concealed a small puzzle-box. The three students try to solve it without success, until Rody remembers that it is exactly like one his father had given him years ago, and manages to solve the puzzle and open the box, uncovering inside a strange device and a microSD. The four decide to cross the border to Klayd and investigate the information it contains.

The four of them discovered a message from Alan Kay, who was one of the scientists forced to work for Humarise to create the Trigger Bombs. There, he explains Flect Turn's true goal: to use the first terrorist bombing as a decoy to lure as many of the top Heroes around the world to the designated targets acting as their forward operating bases where he can detonate the bombs worldwide, killing the majority of the Heroes and then proceed to exterminate the rest of the people with Quirks once civilization is destroyed from within by the chaotic anarchy and societal collapse. Alan reveals that he and Eddie Soul, Rody's father who was killed shortly after his treachery was discovered, created a device that will shut down the bombs for good. However, the situation becomes desperate as Humarise broadcasts to the entire world that they have planted over twenty-five countries with the Trigger bombs and plan to detonate all of them in two hours, creating massive panic and hysteria in the major cities being targeted. With no backup and running out of time, the four of them decide to take the disarming device to disable the bombs. Katsuki is able to figure out the exact location of Humarise's true home base, and with Rody flying them there on a plane, they head out to shut down the bombs. The three heroes gear up in their original costumes and launch a direct assault at the Humarise's base, heavily guarded by armed terrorists and empowered Quirk users.

After locating Humarise's main HQ and sending the information to the heroes, Rody manages to get a plane and takes the heroes there with enough time to deactivate the Trigger Bomb control system. As they fly over the base, the three young heroes jump out of the plane to raid the base alone. Dozens of Humarise's followers were waiting for them outside after spotting the plane, and start firing at them with guns and chemically enhanced Quirks. Katsuki stays at the entrance to deal with the last remnants of the defenses. After taking down the last soldiers outside, Katsuki has to face the Serpenters Twins. One of the Serpenters attacks him with his Sword Kill Quirk, which enables them to generate sword whips that can cut through even the biggest explosions. The Sword Kill of one of the siblings manages to overcome katsuki's defenses and slices him, while those of the other twin manage to slash him, giggling maniacally at his achievement. Unable to bear being shot down, he readies the grenades from his equipment before lunging at the siblings, who quickly evade him by swinging past the massive columns and facade of Humarise's base. Katsuki tries to attack one of them at close range, but is skewered by the other twin's blades, who taunt him. Katsuki shoots and manages to get behind him, but when he is about to attack, he has to jump back to avoid the other brother's Sword Kill. Katsuki and the Serpenters take the battle back into the air, fighting around one of the columns, until the twins manage to outclass him and slice his back, laughing at him. However, they didn't realize that Katsuki had outsmarted them.

He stocked up some of his grenades on the column. With the trap set and his enemies off-guard, he pulls out the pin of one of his Grenadier Bracers to fire at the column, causing a chain of explosions that reduces it to rubble, collapsing onto them. Unfortunately, the Serpenters inject themselves with Trigger to break out of the rubble, gaining more speed, strength and being able to generate even more whip blades. With both their physical abilities and Quirks empowered by the drug, they continue fighting him. Despite his best efforts, Katsuki can barely stand up to them. He is unable to hit any of the Serpenters with his shots, while they easily overwhelm him slashing and slicing him mercilessly. Still, he keeps on pushing until he manages to trick them. After the twins stick their blades into him, Katsuki grabs hold of their appendages, and without letting them go, he uses his Explosion Quirk to propel them all together, taking advantage of the centrifugal force to slam them against the cavern wall.

With the twins trapped on the wall, Bakugo fires both his Grenadier Bracers at them. The Serpenters generate Sword Kills through their mouths to destroy gadgets before they reach them, but the resulting explosion only further pins them to the wall. Completely immobilized and defenseless, Katsuki defeats them with his Super Move: Howitzer Impact. The attack is so powerful that it reduces the entrance to rubble, leaving the Serpenters trapped under the debris.

Having achieved victory, Bakugo stands victorious, right hand in the air pointing his thumb down, before collapsing from the blood loss. During the time he is unconscious, Shoto defeats Leviathan; Izuku manages to defeat Flect Turn; and Rody managed to deactivate the Trigger Bomb control system, saving the lives of millions of people in the world. Humarise is defeated and all of its members, including the Serpenters brothers, arrested and send to prison.

Bakugo, Izuku, Rody, and Shoto are rescued by Recovery Girl and taken to a hospital, where they remain until they recover from their injuries. Recovery Girl herself went to the hospital to heal them using her Quirk, much to Katsuki's chagrin. After their mission was successfully completed, the Otheon team leaves the country.

Paranormal Liberation War Arc
Upon returning to class, Class 1-A heads to Ground Alpha to demonstrate what they learned from their work study experiences. In the locker room, Katsuki hits Izuku in the head with his mask out of disgust, as Izuku's control over Blackwhip was praised by his classmates. Outside, the class is surprised to see that All Might will be teaching the class, as Shota has been urgently called to Tartarus that day.

The Endeavor Agency trio demonstrate at last, with Katsuki showing off his improved abilities, Shoto his enhanced speed, and Izuku his improved control over Blackwhip. Later in the Teachers Lounge, All Might meets with Katsuki and Izuku. He congratulates the two on their improvements, and places a notebook on the table, which contains All Might's research into the past One For All users.

Katsuki looks through All Might's research, and notes that the fifth user was Daigoro Banjo a.k.a. Lariat, whom possessed the Blackwhip Quirk. At first, Katsuki looks down on the original users and their Quirks as being weak, but All Might tells him that All For One killed them as soon as he could since they defied his will, leaving them with no choice but to pass on their Quirks. Katsuki asks Izuku what Quirk he will unlock next, and Izuku answers with Float, the Quirk of Nana. Katsuki denounces him since he is skilled enough with Explosion that he can go airborne, leading the two to have an argument, to All Might's humor.

As Izuku trains with his classmates to prepare his Quirks, Katsuki assists him with a training exercise called "Catch Kacchan With Blackwhip" to catch him with Blackwhip, only for Izuku to lose every time with Katsuki's explosions leaving an afro on his head. Later, Katsuki tells All Might that he can't keep his secrets forever, and All Might tells him that great power puts others at risk and it isn't just the wicked who seek power. Katsuki questions All Might about leaving out some of the information in the notebook, and dodging the subject when he asked him previously. All Might reasons that they're both worried for Izuku due to his own insecurities, and Katsuki replies that he ignored his own weaknesses so he bullied him in the past. All Might asks if Katsuki is doing this to atone and he says Izuku won't see it that way, but All Might soothes him by comparing his relationship with Izuku to his own relationship with Endeavor, saying he'll get a chance to talk eventually.

Months later, Katsuki accompanied the Pro Heroes and the other students of U.A. in the Paranormal Liberation War, originally in Burnin's team of Heroes tasked with evacuating the civilians in Jaku City. Suddenly, Tomura Shigaraki wakes up with his Decay stronger than before, crumbling the entire city, forcing everyone to flee. During Endeavor's battle with Tomura, he and Deku both overhear Endeavor mention "One For All" over the comms, realizing that Tomura will now be directly targeting Deku. Seeing Deku starting to worry, Katsuki tells him that everyone will want to look out for him, since being a Hero means protecting everyone, and he understands the safety of the people is their top priority, so they need to leave. The two make up an excuse to their fellow students about forgetting something, as they contact Endeavor to tell him Tomura is going after Deku, with Katsuki yelling that he'll crush him.

As the two continue moving forward toward an abandoned area of the city, Deku suddenly asks why Katsuki is with him, causing him to snap back that in a situation like this, he's the only one who understands quickly enough to act fast enough. Deku thanks for his help, but Katsuki retorts he isn't doing it for him, having a score to settle with Tomura from getting kidnapped and leading to All Might's retirement; One For All is just the bait. He then starts to think about how much Deku has grown through their internship as well as All Might's training, noting that no matter how much he continues to climb, he'll make sure to always work to stay ahead.

Tomura finally catches up to Deku and Katsuki, nearly touching the former to steal One For All, but they are saved at the last minute by Gran Torino, who takes them to a safe spot. Deku tries to introduce Katsuki to Gran Torino, who reveals All Might already told him that he knows about One For All. Katsuki asks why he dropped them off so far away, as he explains that not only is Tomura's Decay so dangerous that touching debris could disintegrate you, but that he also possesses incredible power and speed, on top of All For One's Quirk and additional Quirks, telling them to let the Pro Heroes handle the mess, especially now that they have Eraser Head using his Erasure to weaken him. He also reminds Deku that him losing One For All would be the "worst case scenario".

Suddenly, to all three of their shock, a hoard of Nomu, dubbed the "Near High-Ends", suddenly emerge from the wreckage and begin to attack the incoming Heroes arriving to backup the team currently fighting Tomura. Gran Torino leaves to assist Endeavor and Ryukyu, but seeing the Heroes undermanned, and seeing Eraser Head in danger, Deku and Katsuki blast their way back to the battlefield, with Deku stopping Tomura and Katsuki declaring it's their turn to save him.

After Deku tells them they need all the help they can get, and that losing their teacher is the real "worst case scenario", Katsuki unleashes an AP Shot: Auto-Cannon on Tomura, but he disregards them as mere fireworks as they hit him. Deku tries using Blackwhip to hold him back but Tomura pulls him closer while telling Katsuki face-to-face that he isn't interested in him at the moment. Endeavor returns and blasts Tomura away from the two students, asking them where Shoto is, and answering it's just them present.

Endeavor tells Deku and Katsuki that they can act without his direction in this situation, but he wants them to support Eraser Head and protect each other. After being attacked by both Endeavor and Gran Torino, Tomura manages to make a straight dash towards Deku but is surprised by Katsuki appearing above him as he yells out that Deku was baiting him out so he could unleash a huge explosion from his gauntlets, distracting him long enough for Endeavor to go at him with a punch to the gut.

Even after all the punishment brought toward him, Tomura still stands and continues to resist. During their scuffle, Gran Torino is severely injured by Tomura, while Deku and Ryukyu manage to restrain him from going after Eraser Head. However, unknowingly to everyone, Tomura was in possession of two Quirk-Destroying bullets and prepares to fire them at Eraser Head. Katsuki manages to destroy one of them, but fails to stop the other as it hits his leg, but Eraser Head manages to cut it off before the effect could take place. Shoto then arrives to help them keep him at bay, but he manages to reach Eraser Head and injure him enough for him to blink, giving Tomura all his Quirks back.

Katsuki gets increasingly irritated at being unable to do anything to help, and just as Tomura has the chance to Decay all the Heroes in his vicinity, Deku suddenly activates Float while using Blackwhip to carry all of the Heroes out of range. Katsuki worriedly yells to Deku to keep his distance, but the latter tells him that he is the only one who can stop Tomura from reaching the ground. As the two clash, Katsuki worries that Deku has a high risk of dying whether by Tomura's hand or expanding his body with his own Quirks. He comes up with a plan using both Shoto and Endeavor, flying the two up to help Deku, with Katsuki thinking about how he used to believe that One For All was a cursed power until seeing how useful it was when All Might and Deku used it for their heroic deeds, while also witnessing the intense self-harm the full power of the Quirk is doing to him right now. He throws Endeavor to Tomura, unleashing a Prominence Burn that nearly defeats him, until All For One surprisingly possesses Tomura's body, with the villain unleashing tendrils in order to attack Deku and steal One For All. Without thinking, Katsuki intercepts the attack and saves Deku's life, just like he did for him so long ago.

Katsuki tells the shocked Deku not to play hero all by himself, and his falling self is caught by Shoto. Enraged by Tomura hurting his allies and friends, Deku snaps and breaks his way through to Tomura, accidentally giving him the chance to steal One For All. Tomura, however, is unable to steal One For All, and the action stuns both him and Deku. Ingenium arrives on the scene to help the injured Katsuki and Endeavor, but the heroes are met by Gigantomachia and the League on his back. As Dabi prepares to attack the heroes after revealing his identity as Toya Todoroki, Best Jeanist falls from a plane and restrains the villains with wires,

Katsuki smirks, seeing his former employer alive and active. Katsuki blasts his way to help Best Jeanist and Lemillion, and fights off the Nomu that had been summoned to assist in the fight. Katsuki speaks to Best Jeanist where he then reveals his official hero name: Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight. The name is met with disapproving thoughts, but amuses Lemillion, irritating Katsuki. As Gigantomachia weakens, Mr. Compress gouges himself to escape Best Jeanist's clutches, and takes Spinner and Tomura with him to open ground. Katsuki becomes too weak to stop Tomura/All For One and the League from escaping and passes out, and is admitted to Central Hospital.

Two days after Tomura/All For One breaks out the convicts in Tartarus and prisons all over Japan, Katsuki wakes up, seemingly back to his naturally irritated state, making the visiting students relieved. Katsuki then asks them if everyone, including Izuku, Shoto, Endeavor, Shota, and Nejire, are alright. He notices grim looks on their faces and demands to know what is going on. Katsuki gets out of his bed and starts running down the hallway to get to Izuku, with Rikido and Minoru trying to stop him. He angrily proclaims that if Izuku dies, he will kill him. Katsuki is eventually carried off by Tsuyu, Minoru, and Rikido, angrily demanding to speak to Izuku, who is still unconscious. He notices Best Jeanist and Hawks walking by to talk to Izuku about One For All.

Tartarus Escapees Arc
With Tomura and All For One loose, and the secret of One For All slowly being leaked, Izuku decides to leave U.A. in order to protect his classmates from danger, sending them all personalized letters explaining his departure. This infuriates Katsuki who immediately looks to figure out where he went. He's able to deduce that he and All Might are working together alongside the Top 3 Pro Heroes, and when he, Shoto, and Fumikage are unable to receive any responses from their mentors, it fuels their beliefs.

The three propose their theories to the rest of Class 1-A, who try to understand what all their plan is. Katsuki himself states that, knowing the two of them the best, the thought of him and All Might being together right now is the worst possible scenario so they need to confirm their suspicions. Ochaco suggests taking advantage of Endeavor being a U.A. alumni to learn the truth, and after convincing Nezu, the class is able to corner Endeavor for answers.

After indirectly revealing Izuku and All Might are working together, Katsuki approaches Endeavor telling him that while it may have been the right call, he knows nothing about Izuku; that he's someone who never takes himself into account and always insists he's fine, the same way All Might became the Symbol of Peace. He tells him that he can't let the two of them be together or else he will run himself ragged. Aware that Izuku has already begun to go rogue, Endeavor reluctantly hands over Izuku's GPS tracker to the class, with Nezu giving Class 1-A his support to assist the Heroes to go out and bring Izuku back to U.A.

Class 1-A manage to track down Deku in Kamino, where a villain known as Dictator had been engaging him in battle, using his Quirk Despot to control an army of civilians to dogpile him. Dynamight manages to arrive and using an AP Shot on Dictator, shuts down his Quirk, while informing the rest of the class he's found Deku.

The rest of the class quickly appear, with Shoto and Creati restraining Dictator, while the civilians run off. Deku asks his classmates why they're here, insisting that he's fine, leading Dynamight to mockingly say it's good to hear before asking if he's still smiling now. Deku responds saying that if he is to smile, he needs to keep moving forward, and demands everyone to get out of his way. Dynamight retorts that he should make them, calling him an "All Might wannabe," as the rest of the class stand beside him to stop Deku.

Dynamight taunts Deku's current appearance, how he now looks completely different, also mentioning how he heard he's unlocked the Quirks from the 4th and 6th users now. Deku thanks everyone for coming, before using Smokescreen to make an escape. Uravity recognizes it as the Quirk of the 6th user, as Dynamight uses his Land Mine Blast to blast away the smoke, asking if Deku believes that now h'es one of the big-shots, if they're all just a bunch of "NPCs" to him.

Deku continues trying to make his escape, being tossed from building to building as each of the Class 1-A members attempt to restrain and reason with him, as he refuses to listen. With him about to make a getaway using Faux 100 Percent to blast into the sky, Class 1-A unveil their final plan: combining Pinky's Acidman and Shoto's Flashfreeze Heatwave to launch Dynamight off Shoto's ice ramp-up to Deku, pushing further with Uravity's Zero Gravity. Dynamight blows through the air and admits to himself there is so much he needs to say to Deku, but right now the only one who can withstand such intense speed is Ingneium, whom he launches straight at Deku using his Blasting Speed Turbo Cluster.

Ingenium manages to grab ahold of Deku's hand, who finally gives in as they are released from the air and are caught by Red Riot on the ground. As the rest of the class catches up, Deku still continues to resist and insist it is too dangerous for him to be around everyone. Dynamight approaches him and asks if he remembers what he said when he got stabbed by Tomura during the War. When Deku says he doesn’t, Dynamight reminds him that he said “stop trying to win this on your own”, and after he said that, he felt he had to tell him that his body moved on his own when he got stabbed.

Dynamight admits he looked down on Deku because he was Quirkless, and therefore he felt he should be far behind him, but the truth was, he always felt he was above him. He says he couldn't accept the way he was, which led to him bullying him over the years and trying to prove his superiority, but after entering U.A., he kept losing, so started trying to understand Deku's strengths and his weaknesses. He proceeds to tell Deku that even if it doesn’t change anything, he has to speak his current truth: He apologizes to him for everything he had done to him up until now, even calling him "Izuku" for the first time.

Dynamight’s words snap Deku to his senses as he continues that his choices weren’t misguided, but he can’t handle it by himself anymore, that if he encounters a hurdle, he can rely on his friends to help him, and the only way to surpass All Might is for everyone to protect U.A. and the civilians together. Deku weakly collapses and apologizes for what he said about everyone not being able to keep up with him, which Dynamight accepts as he catches him.

Class 1-A return to U.A. with Izuku, now equipped with the "U.A. Barrier", where they find the front of the school filled with a crowd of civilians protesting Izuku's entry, knowing that he is being targeted by Tomura and believing it will endanger them. The Heroes are unable to get through to the crowd until Ochaco makes an impassioned speech toward the civilians to let Izuku stay, which everyone becomes affected by. During the speech, Katsuki turns to Izuku and reminds him that he and the others will step up for him if he can't handle something on his own.

By the conclusion of Ochaco's pleas, Izuku breaks down in exhaustion and relief, with the crowd agreeing to let him stay and help, as Katsuki, Class 1-A, and the civilians escort Izuku inside. The boys immediately rush Izuku to the bath, stripping and washing him down before getting in themselves. Katsuki yells at everyone to scrub Izuku first before throwing him into the bath straight away, hopping in himself, as Fumikage takes note that even after his heartfelt apology, he still hasn't changed. Katsuki, however, reminds everyone that his goal to become number one hasn't changed, which makes everyone his rivals still, including Izuku, who he tries to refrain from calling him "Deku." Izuku, however, tells Katsuki that he doesn't have to force himself and can still call him Deku.

After getting out of the bath, Class 1-A is visited by All Might, where he and Izuku apologize and make up before he heads back out. Izuku proceeds to fall asleep, while the class discuss what to do about the situation with the civilians. Kyoka thinks about Shoto's words about the evacuees not having a full change of heart yet, dragging Denki, Fumikage, Katsuki, and Momo closer to her, stating that just like the last time there were other people that regarded them with apprehension, they need to do something to reassure them and bring smiles to their faces, just like they did at the Culture Festival. Class 1-A comes back together, as they declare they won’t just bring the world back to how it was, but to make it a better place than before, and do it all together.

Current Arc
Two days later, Class 1-A learn that during this time, Tomura had fought American No. 1 Hero, Star and Stripe, and while she was killed during the battle with Tomura successfully stealing her Quirk, New Order, thanks to her actions, the Quirk acted like a virus within his body, destroying several of his Quirks and delaying his procedure by about a week. All Might informs all this to the class, telling them that this is now their perfect time to prepare for the inevitable all-out war.

Katsuki immediately yells at All Might that they've already been preparing, with the rest of the class revealing that since the War, they've continued their training with the Wild, Wild Pussycats, all with the intention to fight alongside Izuku until Tomura is defeated. Izuku says that Katsuki and the others agreed to practice with him to help master One For All, but Katsuki just barks back at him, like he usually does, claiming he only wants to test out his new Cluster moves on him, to Izuku's shock. The rest of the class each respond with enthusiasm as they all prepare to go out and train, with All Might looking on proud and satisfied.

Out in the courtyard, the class trains their Quirks, with Katsuki and Izuku sparring between each other. Katsuki talks about how he's learnt to “build up and release” from their internship, but now he’s focused on saving up a bunch of sweat. So rather than one big Explosion, he can create a barrage of explosions at once to power his new Cluster technique. Izuku also realizes that's why he stays in his winter suit, so he can sweat faster.

Denki discusses with Minoru about how with Tomura and All For One currently weakened and Gigantomachia still sedated, the fight should be easier for them, but Katsuki tells them three reasons why they’re wrong. First is that even after being able to locate the research facilities and hideouts, the Heroes were never able to track down All For One himself, calling "Ol' Nutsack Face" a champ at “hide-and-seek”, so they are unlikely to find him again.

Momo adds the second thing, which is that Tomura was incomplete in the previous battle, and now they’re only working with half of their Heroes, which Katsuki agrees with. He says the last point is that the villains will be the ones to decide when the battle starts, as even if the Search Quirk was destroyed, they’re the ones with the edge to start the battle, which is why they're all focusing on calling up everybody possible to help.

Shortly afterwards, he and the rest of the class receive the devastating news that Izuku had just captured the Aoyama Family, learning that they have been spies for All For One, and Yuga was the traitor who isolated the class at the U.S.J. and revealed the location of their training camp. Restraining them in the AV room, he and the other class members refuse to back down from the news despite Nezu's request, all in stunned and tears of Yuga's betrayal. Among everyone's intense reactions, Katsuki calmly replies how it's a "small world" another one of them started out Quirkless, referring to Izuku. He listens to Yuga's desperation that drove him to despair, followed by Izuku's pleading to let Yuga still help them, figuring Izuku's plan.

The rest of the class quickly realize that they could have Yuga help deceive All For One and "steer the villains" into the fight, and when questioned considering his betrayal, say they want him to help them so they can more easily move on and forgive him. For his part, Katsuki quips that due to all the things he went through because of him, five good Howitzer blasts will be enough to make them even, which Hanta awkwardly responds to.

Shota then appears on a tablet screen, taking full responsibility and reveals that he has an idea, which Class 1-A, the U.A. Staff, and Police Force hear while the Aoyama Family's ears have been covered. Naomasa then has the Aoyama Family escorted back to their HQ, telling everyone not to say a word to anyone else about the plan, while he and the rest of the class looking on sullenly. Back at Heights Alliance, Katsuki and the class take a breather, before getting ready to gear back up, as he and everyone, with fire and rage in their eyes over the betrayal, prepare to bring All For One down once and for all. He and the rest of his class form their "Search Squad", heading out to hunt down the remaining villains.

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