Chapter 396

Battle Without A Quirk (""きい) is the three hundred and ninety-sixth chapter of Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia.

Summary
About twenty minutes before Himiko's Twice Doubles vanished, All Might prepares to face down All For One once and for all. He thinks back to Nighteye's prophecy about how if he continued down his path, he will encounter a villain that will give him an unspeakably gruesome death, not expecting the "young man" before him to be All For One. He figures if the prediction still holds true, then this is it for him. After declaring "I AM HERE!", he activates his support items from Hercules, as a mechanical suit begins to surround his body, unveiling "Armored All Might".

He tells Hercules to start recording as he addresses Naomasa Tsukauchi to keep him updated on the battle. Naomasa and the Counter-Force watch the live feed as La Brava quickly proceeds to stream it, which the officers tell her not to. Naomasa remembers back to All Might initially leaving to support them in the fight, thinking about how no matter how many gadgets he has, without a Quirk he's no match for him. He defeatingly tells La Brava to cut the feed, because all she'd be broadcasting is the brutal death of a former hero just to buy a few minutes from All For One reaching his pupil.

All For One stares down at All Might, thinking about him as his number one road-block and toy to play with, recognizing that he is simply trying to delay his advance, yet seeing the smile on him spurns him to angrily fight back. All For One unleashes a destructive blast towards All Might, who uses Hercules to activate "Red Riot" to shield his body in a protective coating, defending him from the attack, blasting forward into the air. The suit states that the shields have been depleted by 66% and won't survive another hit, but he doesn't consider that a problem.

All For One recognizes All Might's classic style of a mad charge without dodging, yelling that it only worked because he held One For All. Just then, All Might activates several electric wires that all surround into All For One, and uses "Blackwhip" and "Chargebolt" to release electrical shocks that permeate his body, meddling with his regeneration. All Might yells out that ever since his final battle with Nana Shimura, he's made a habit of starting fights with haphazard ranged attacks, wearing folks down before stealing their Quirks, however that approach only works for someone with a Quirk. He uses "Cellophane" to reel the wires into him, and "Sugarman" to build-up his leg kick.

La Brava asks Naomasa if he's still gloomy about how things are going to go, causing him to react in shock thinking about after all he's witnessed, he should know the measure of the man who's kept them safe this whole time. All Might declares the suit and car are here to keep him in the fight, if only for a bit, and he came up with the specs and put in the design request. He states how back when they were initially defeated by him, he had no take refuge over in the United States, where he made a friend and these are the fruits of that bond. Meanwhile, a hopeful Melissa Shield watches the battle in progress. He yells out that all he's been blessed with will bear its weight against him, telling Naomasa that they've known each other for long enough that he should realize he's never gone into a battle expecting to lose, pummeling All For One with a "Shoot Style Smash".

Chapter Notes

 * All Might utilizes a specialized "Armored" suit, created by Melissa Shield and powered by his Hercules car, to fight against All For One.
 * He uses various gadgets and techniques inspired by the students of Class 1-A to keep All For One busy, intending to defeat him, even despite Nighteye's prediction.

Author's Comment
"I started walking three times a week for my health, and now I have a bomb about to go off in my knee. Talk about lose-lose."

- Kohei Horikoshi

Trivia

 * When La Brava initially reveals her intent to stream the fight, the nearby officers question if streaming is her "Bankai", in reference to Bleach.