Chapter 254

More of a Hero than Anyone (よりもおまえはヒーローに) is the two hundred and fifty-fourth chapter of Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia.

Summary
The chapter starts with a flashback to when Oboro, Shota, and Hizashi were in school together. Shota reflects how Oboro died during the internship the three of them did together, and how it happened a while after he said, "Let's all form an agency together" when he got crushed by a collapsing building, and how at one point the three of them strove to be heroes together.

In the present, Naomasa says that it is possible that Kurogiri is a Nomu with Oboro Shirakumo's body used as the base. Hizashi says that the three of them were called "the three dumbigos of Class A", therefore he has no idea what to make of the information he's been given. Gran Torino thinks back to what All For One said, that superior Quirks tend to end up clustered at U.A.. and it makes sense for him to collect the 'leftovers'. Gran Torino assumes that Oboro's body was switched out before it was cremated and All For One turned it into a Nomu. He also tells Hizashi that looking for any other meaning besides that is pointless because All For One's reasons are nothing but evil.

While Hizashi struggles to comprehend this information, Naomasa says Kurogiri is sedated because he tried to use his Quirk. Shota asked why they called the two of them here, and that if they think they can save him through their 'bonds' they're getting their hopes up. Gran Torino says that with a strong enough basis, miracles can be possible. They reveal that according to the reports following Endeavor's fight with Hood, they learned that Hood's personality was distinct because he was obsessed with fighting strong adversaries. From the DNA extracted from his corpse, they learned that the original body came from a thug who made a living cage fighting.

Shota questions on Hood retaining his personality when he was human while reminding how he fought Kurogiri at the U.S.J. and how he spoke differently and didn't react when he saw him. Naomasa says that Kurogiri was probably operating on altered or erased memories that made him fight. Naomasa tells Shota and Hizashi that he wants the two of them to reawaken Oboro's lingering "attachment" toward his old life so they can get information for the investigation. Hizashi questions if it shouldn't be the Oboro's family who does that to which Naomasa says they will contact them if he and Shota fails. Shota uses his Quirk on Kurogiri and says he'll be damned to let Oboro's parents learn of this stuff.

As Kurogiri wakes up, the investigation begins, to which Kurogiri comments how he hadn't seen Shota since U.S.J. invasion. Hizashi notes that the black fog doesn't vanish even with Shota looked at him, meaning Kurogiri's body is made of the black substance. Just as he starts immediately yells that their theory that he's Oboro is off mark, Kurogiri questions if Tomura is okay and if he got captured. Hizashi tells him they won't say anything, which saddens Kurogiri. Shota questions if he's worried about Tomura, to which Kurogiri says watching over him is his mission. Hizashi starts yelling that watching over him is a stupid job only to notice Shota's saddened expression. Kurogiri replies to Hizashi that did not pain him to do so because he is the type who cannot abandon others.

Shota thought back to when he left behind a stray kitten without thinking of picking it up and how Oboro picked it up without a second thought. Kurogiri questions what Shota is talking about while Shota continues to talk about how he felt he always hesitated back then and did things half-done, but Oboro always pulled him along. Shota says this while remembering moments like when they first met him or when he lent his goggles to protect his eyes and being able to face a villain. Kurogiri tells Shota he seems to be mistaking his location for a confession booth but Shota kept saying that Oboro kept pushing forward without thinking of the consequences, even though death meant the end for him.

Shota says that he and Hizashi are teachers now and that he's strict with his students, to which Gran Torino mentions Shota's high expulsion rate and Hizashi implies it's even higher. It then cuts to Class 2-A where several students talked about Shota's face when he walked out to which some noticed no difference. The student says it was like when he expelled them, with some students not being happy thinking back to how he expelled them while some noticed it helped them grow. It is then revealed that Shota asked Nezu for the ability to expel and re-enroll students, as he felt that self-sacrifice isn't the same as throwing one's life away, and that he wants to teach students what 'death' is like, if only once, which he felt would make them strive higher, to which Nezu accepted.

Back to the present, Shota yells that he wants people like Oboro to become heroes who can pull other people along and live long lives. He shows his goggles to Kurogiri and yells to him, with tears in his eyes, that if Oboro is still in there, then they should strive to be heroes together again.

Shota's words begin to affect Kurogiri.

Chapter Notes

 * It is revealed that Kurogiri is possibly a Nomu created with Oboro Shirakumo's body.
 * Shota seems convinced when he noticed similarities between Kurogiri's desire to protect Tomura and Oboro's energetic personality he was so fond of in the past.
 * It is revealed that the class Shota reportedly expelled according to All Might was re-accepted into U.A.
 * It is implied that Shota expels students who he feels don't understand the difference between self-sacrifice and recklessness and wants them to experience tragedy to make them develop better.

Trivia

 * The chapter was initially titled You Could Be More of a Hero than Anyone (よりもおまえはヒーローに), but was amended in volume release.
 * The panel in which a young Shota realizes that Oboro is dead is a recreation of a similar panel from Chapter 64 (Vigilantes) from a different angle.

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