Joint Training Arc

The Joint Training Arc (対抗戦編) is the fifteenth story arc in My Hero Academia, as well as the sixth story arc in the Rise of Villains Saga.

Class 1-A and 1-B compete against each other in a Joint Training Battle, joining them is Hitoshi Shinso who is eager to enter the Hero Course.

Enter: Hitoshi Shinso
Following a discussion on the vestiges, Izuku and All Might run into Hitoshi and Shota, wherein Izuku recalls Hitoshi meeting with his teacher at an earlier date, which is received with a rather ambiguous response, before the aforementioned teacher advises him to hurry along to the training ground.

Now dressed in their winter outfits, Class 1-A gather at the training ground and share the modifications made to their costumes, causing Ochaco to remember Izuku and Mei's encounter back when they were remodeling parts of their outfits together, resulting in a flushed outburst, much to Mashirao's surprise.

Suddenly, a voice interrupts the group, revealing Neito and the rest of Class 1-B, also clad in their hero outfits. Neito proclaims that 1-B have the upper hand in the ongoing rivalry between the two classes, as they prevailed victors (by two ballots) in his self-researched survey of which the favored performance was at the School Festival, attempting to continue for his prediction of the result during their training, however being cut off by Shota's Capturing Weapon.

The homeroom teachers of both classes announce the arrival of a potential hero candidate from another class, disclosing the student as being Hitoshi, creating an understanding for Izuku as to the meetings he and Shota engaged in.

Upon being requested by Shota to introduce himself, Hitoshi expresses his feelings bluntly, stating the other students as obstacles he must overcome due to being so far behind at current, also stating he has no intention of making friends here in his journey to becoming a hero. It is noted by Hanta that Hitoshi's current image resonates with that of Shoto's prior to the U.A. Sports Festival.

Ground Rules
Vlad King begins by explaining that the training will take place on Ground Gamma, where the two classes will go head-to-head in teams of four to battle it out, however Jurota notes that there are 41 of them in total, now that Hitoshi will be joining them. Vlad clears this up by stating that Hitoshi will participate in two battles, one on each side. Toru follows another misconception up, stating the team of 4 will have a disadvantage against the team of 5, causing Vlad to once again intervene and clear up the fact that integrating Hitoshi, who has had little to no battle experience, into the team will prove a magnanimous task in itself. He then explains how the winner will be decided: the team to capture 4 members of the opposing will win, irrespective of total numbers per side.

Teams
The two classes are divided into teams and Shinso draws two numbers to see what battles he will be participating in. Class 1-A consists of Team Asui, Team Yaoyorozu, Team Todoroki, Team Bakugo, and Team Midoriya and Class 1-B consists of Team Shiozaki, Team Kendo, Team Tetsutetsu, Team Tokage, and Team Monoma. Hitoshi draws the numbers of Team Asui and Team Monoma, exciting both teams who express their eagerness to working with him. Ochaco points out to Izuku that this training will be a rematch between him and Hitoshi with Izuku claiming he is excited to see Hitoshi's growth.

As the training is about to begin Midnight and All Might appear, eager to watch the Joint Training. Midnight asks All Might who he thinks will do better in the training. All Might responds, even though Class 1-A is strong and has overcome numerous crises, Class 1-B has been able to develop their skills and quirks more due to staying out of trouble. Vlad announces the beginning of the first round, Team Asui versus Team Shiozaki.

Round 1
Team Asui contemplates on what they should do. Tsuyu suggests since both teams know each others quirks to a certain extent they should stick together and overwhelm them with numbers. Denki wants to go off alone and be a sniper from a distance, while Hitoshi notices Tsuyu's Camouflage ability, but Eijiro points out to Denki that he would be at a disadvantage against great numbers if caught alone. Denki agrees and points out they should be cautious of Ibara, and Hitoshi agrees that they should get rid of the most troublesome Quirk users first. The whole team contemplates on their battle strategy knowing that they must play to their advantages if they are going to win against Class 1-B.

Round 5
Izuku leaps out ahead of his team, using One For All: Full Cowl to propel himself through the pipes at high speed. Some of Izuku's classmates recognize that his team's formation is similar to Katsuki's, but Hanta Sero notes that they lacks a sensory type like Kyoka Jiro, meaning that Izuku will have to work harder than Katsuki to find his enemies.

Izuku knows Class 1-B can't ignore him and stands out on purpose, fulfilling his act as a decoy. Neito makes himself known to Izuku using Hitoshi's voice changer to imitate Ochaco’s scream, which greatly startles Izuku. Neito admits his team knows better than to ignore a powerhouse type like Izuku, but adds that they might try crushing his team first. Izuku knows Neito is trying to provoke him and remains silent. Neito continues provoking the idea that Izuku's team is in trouble but he refuses to give a signal to their location.

Neito prepares his copied Quirks as Izuku lunges at him. With one final strike of his words, Neito asks how Katsuki can smile knowing his destroyed the Symbol of Peace. Angered, Izuku aims his Air Force technique directly at his foe.

Minoru ties several of his balls to a string and lays them throughout the area in the hope that they can act as something of a trap to snag an opposing member, and when it finally gets a tug he believes he's done just that. However, this turns out to be Reiko is using her Poltergeist Quirk to levitate a barrage of objects around the area, while Yui Kodai uses her Size to change their mass as a means of throwing their opponents off. Ochaco deflects an onslaught of metal projectiles, but Nirengeki uses Twin Impact to add a second wave to the barrage. Class 1-B's attack has helped Nirengeki get a rough idea of Class 1-A's location, so he, Reiko, and Yui continue hiding together to prepare their next attack.

Before Izuku can ever release his Air Force attack, mysterious black power bursts out of his arm. He tries kicking his own arm to contain the extreme surge of energy erupting from it, but it overflows and black tendrils suddenly rush at Neito below. Neito dives out of the way just in time, and the black tendrils begin to latch on to objects in the area, pulling Izuku through the maze of pipes to where Hitoshi's hiding. He yells for Hitoshi to run.

Onlookers believe this may be a new ability of Izuku, but he's actually struggling in pain to control this power. The tendrils pull Izuku into the air as he pleads with One For All to get back under control. The tendrils even threaten his teammates, which gains Ochaco's attention. Izuku believed he was improving since getting his Quirk and dismayed that this power is raging again.

Just as the darkness threatens to consume Izuku, Ochaco rushes to his side and floats her way up to him, grabbing onto him. She yells for Hitoshi to brainwash him in the hope that his power will subsequently stop. Hitoshi panics and tries to think of a correct question he could ask Izuku that he would actually answer to. He quickly calms down and reminds himself of his first clash with Izuku, realizing that he's come a long way since then and truly wishes to prove it. He removes his mask and asks Izuku if they can have their proper rematch. Izuku confirms and allows himself to fall under Hitoshi's spell once again. The mysterious black power disappears as he loses consciousness.

Ochaco immediately shakes Izuku to wake him from the brainwashing. Ochaco calms Izuku down as they float in mid-air. Neito takes advantage of their guard being down and ambushes Izuku from behind while floating on an enlarged metal nut, attempting to touch him and copy his Quirk. He manages to knock Izuku over and Ochaco tries to subdue him using Gunhead Martial Arts.

Reiko arrives in time and saves Neito by using flying projectiles to distract his attacker. Ochaco dodges as everyone from both teams join the fray, the once technical battle turning into an all-out brawl. Hitoshi sends his Capturing Weapon flying at Ochaco, but Izuku darts out in front of her and grabs it, ready to face Hitoshi once again. Despite Izuku's chaotic outburst, all of the students are still eager to win the fight.

Izuku explains to Ochaco that he can't use his Quirk after what happened earlier, saying he'll have to rely on her powers to aid him against Hitoshi. Mina fires her Acid Shot attack at the other team, but Yui blocks it with an enlarged plate of metal. Nirengeki throws a projectile on the ground before increasing its velocity using his Quirk, and Minoru protects Mina from this attack using his Grape Buckler shield.

As it turns out, Minoru's plan the whole time was to get pushed into Mina's chest. Annoyed, she throws him at the other team using her Acid Layback and Minoru bounces off his own balls for a Grape-Pinky Combo Mineta-Bounce attack.

Neito throws a projectile at Izuku and Ochaco, but the latter deflects it with her wrist-guard. As Neito's touched Izuku and therefore copied his Quirk, he attempts to activate One For All but it doesn't appear to work, allowing Ochaco to jump on him and swiftly pin him down.

Hitoshi realizes his teammate's been caught and calls out to him, readying his binding cloth to use to support Neito, but Izuku uses Ochaco's Quirk to float up to his position above the battlefield, distracting him from his captured teammate. They both start grappling and Hitoshi reminds Izuku of their last bout, and Izuku knows Hitoshi is too big of a threat not to neutralize now. Hitoshi claims he's not the same as before and tries to bring the pipes down on Izuku the same way he did in round one.

Izuku recalls the short time he spent in One For All after falling under Hitoshi's brainwashing. He spoke to a former One For All user and was told to use his new Quirk, Blackwhip, by keeping his heart under control. This man reminded Izuku of All Might, and that gives him enough heart to focus and use the black tendrils to suspend the pipes in the air.

Hitoshi is surprised by this new development and asks if Izuku was only faking being in pain before. Izuku suddenly gets some painful physical backlash for using Blackwhip, realizing his body isn't ready for it's power yet and he must master One For All first. To avoid another outburst, Izuku adjusts full cowl to 8%.

Neito sends a metal pipe at Ochaco, who's tied him up and is floating him to the cell, with Poltergeist and she dodges it quickly. She turns to him, realizing that, as five minutes has passed, the time limit of his Copy should be up now so he'll soon lose access to his teammate's Quirks. Neito taunts her, saying that he could've extended his limit to ten minutes, and asks her if she thinks she could beat him one-on-one. Ochaco looks defiant but doesn’t verbally reply, and Neito realizes just how cautious the Class 1-A team has been because of Hitoshi's Quirk. He asks if Ochaco knows how many Quirks he can copy at a time, and, noting the number of clocks on his belt, she holds up three fingers, and he slyly asks what she would do if it was four.

As Ochaco starts to move Neito into the cell, he begins to explain Copy to her. He says that although he can only use one Quirk at a time, the effects of one Quirk will remain even after he activates another unless they directly affect his body. Ochaco pushes him into the cell and he laughs, knowing she doesn't get where he's coming from.

Ochaco has tied Neito up and is taking him to the cell by floating him. She realizes his Quirk's time limit of 5 minutes should be up, and he begins to taunt her, saying he could've improved it to ten which would mean he'd still be a threat. He begins to talk about his copy number limit, asking her if she knew how many Quirks he could copy at once, but she doesn't understand what relevance that bears.

Ochaco successfully locks him up, but not before Neito uses Nirengeki's Twin Impact to hinder Izuku's pursuit of Hitoshi. Nirengeki subdues Minoru with a strong punch to his gut after reading his moves, and Reiko follows up with a metal rain attack on Mina. Class 1-B begins to gain momentum, but Izuku refuses to give up.

Izuku spins off a wall to completely evade Hitoshi's Capturing Weapon. He remembers his origin and this gives him enough courage to use his Quirk without fear. Ochaco chops Reiko's neck to subdue her from behind and then pushes Yui into a trap made of Minoru's balls, which gives Mina an opening to uppercut Nirengeki to save Minoru. At the same time, Izuku pins down Hitoshi, reminding his team of the claim for a victory that he made before the match began.

Class 1-A’s team manages to turn the battle around as soon Nirengeki, Reiko and Hitoshi have soon joined Neito in the cell.

Story Impact

 * Fumikage's internship with Hawks is shown.
 * Hitoshi is revealed to have been trained personally by Shota in private.
 * Class 1-A and 1-B are planned to have joint training sessions.
 * Hitoshi Shinso of Class 1-C is joining them in the hopes of eventually transferring to the Hero Course.
 * Shota says this training session is an entrance exam for Hitoshi to see if he has the potential to be in the Hero Course.
 * Izuku notes that every time the previous One For All users activate his Quirk, Hitoshi just happens to be in close proximity.
 * The first time happened during the U.A. Sports Festival in Izuku's fight with Hitoshi. The vestiges activated his Quirk through his fingers, releasing him from Hitoshi's Quirk.
 * Katsuki works together as a team for the first time without trying to do things on his own like usually.
 * Tenya has upgraded his mufflers.
 * Shoto has learned to use both of sides of his quirk to achieve a flame temperature hot enough to melt iron while cooling his body with his ice, a feat that shows him circumventing the weaknesses of the fire-based quirk that plagued his father.
 * A flashback that revealed that one of Shoto's siblings had a fire quirk that was stronger than their father's but had a weak body.
 * Ochaco's feelings for Izuku resurfaces as she saves him from being absorbed into the Blackwhip.
 * Izuku meets a previous user of One For All during the fifth round.
 * The previous user informs him about how One For All is now begun to grown inside Izuku to the point now he is able to awaken previous Quirks that were passed on from each user of One For All.
 * Because of this, Izuku awakens the Quirk, Blackwhip.
 * There are 5 more Quirks inside One For All that Izuku will be able to use after learning more about it.
 * All For One has some ability to be able to hear his brothers voice inside of One For All.
 * A meeting is arranged between Neito and Eri. Shota intended for Neito to copy Eri's Quirk to help her control it, but it failed due to the conditions of Neito's Copy.

Battles & Events

 * Joint Training Battle
 * Round 1
 * Round 2
 * Round 3
 * Round 4
 * Round 5

Characters Introduced
No new characters have been introduced this arc.

Quirks Introduced

 * Beast: Jurota's Quirk allows him to become a gigantic beast, gaining an enhanced physique and enhanced senses, but he enters a state of exhilaration.
 * Scales: Hiryu's Quirk allows him to grow hard scales all over his body which he can wear as armor or shoot as projectile weapons.
 * Black: Shihai's Quirk allows him to merge with and move freely throughout anything black in color. If the black object is capable of movement, Shihai may also move the object at will.
 * Mushroom: Kinoko's Quirk allows her to grow mushrooms from various surfaces including her surroundings, her own body and even her opponent's body.
 * Comic: Manga's Quirk allows him to turn onomatopoeias into attacks.
 * Gyrate: Sen's Quirk allows him to rotate any part of his body, replicating that of a drill.
 * Horn Cannon: Pony's Quirk allows her to send her horns flying and remotely control them at will. She is able to control up to four horns that are sent flying.
 * Lizard Tail Splitter: Setsuna's Quirk allows her to split her body into several pieces and control them telekinetically. She is currently able to divide her body into 50 different parts depending on the length.
 * Razor Sharp: Togaru's Quirk allows him to produce large blades from his body.
 * Poltergeist: Reiko's Quirk allows her to telekinetically control objects from a distance.
 * Size: Yui's Quirk allows her to change the size of non-living things that she touches.
 * Twin Impact: Nirengeki's Quirk allows him to cause any object he has punched to experience a second impact with many times the force of the original hit.
 * Blackwhip: A previous successor of One For All's Quirk allows him to create tendrils of dark energy that can grab objects from a distance.

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