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 decides to stick together and overwhelm Team Shiozaki with their numbers. Tsuyu starts out camouflaging herself on the wall and Hitoshi comments how if you're aware of it, you can still see her. Denki offers to split up from the group and fire off his Quirk only for Eijiro to question what he'll do once he's all alone. Hitoshi offers to neutralize the ones who have the most troublesome Quirks, as it's probably what the other team is thinking.

Just then, Koji's birds return, to which he reveals that Ibara is to their left all alone yet she's heading their way while using her vines to probe all around her. Before they can act, Jurota comes charging in. He reveals that they knew Koji would locate them with his birds and that they'd be wary of Ibara's Quirk after the Sports Festival, so they had her act as a decoy and allow himself to get in close using his Beast to avoid leaving Denki to his own devices. Kosei, who was riding Jurota, uses his Quirk to imprison Koji in an air prison to prevent Denki from using his Quirk around his teammates. Kosei then comments on Jurota's accomplishment only for him to become still, as it's revealed Kosei never said anything, but the voice came from Hitoshi, using his Artificial Vocal Chords: Persona Chords.

Early before, Hitoshi explains how his Quirk works to his team, but also reveals that he can't make his brainwashed targets talk. To fix that problem, Hitoshi's Artificial Vocal Chords essentially alters his voice to mimic someone else's voice. As we catch up to the present, Kosei traps Hitoshi in another Air Prison and wakes Jurota up from his brainwashing. When Jurota charges to attack, Denki steps in the way with his own Quirk. He gets smacked aside but manages to shock Jurota. Kosei's efforts to escape electrocution by jumping off Jurota leaves him open to be grabbed by Tsuyu with her tongue. As she proceeds to carry him to their jail cell, Jurota proceeds to chase after her. Koji and Eijiro try to keep him back but he dodges them by changing back to normal, then transforms back into a beast and grabs the both of them. Jurota throws Eijiro high into the air and into Ibara's field of vision, stating that he's the only one who can withstand his power. Denki and Tsuyu, who delivered Kosei, try to save Koji but Jurota escapes for the time being, and both Eijiro and Koji are imprisoned, leaving the score as 2-1 Class B.

Tsuyu breaks Hitoshi free and the three of them regroup and try to come up with a plan. Back with Class 1-B, Ibara complains about how she was treated as a decoy only for Jurota to say it worked. Just then, Jurota picks up Tsuyu's scent, only to realize he's picking up three Tsuyu scents. Izuku and Minoru remember what Tsuyu said about how she could secrete her own mucus during the Attack on U.S.J, and that she applied her mucus to Denki and Hitoshi hoping to throw off Jurota's scent. Ibara attack with her 'Via Dolorosa' Super Move while Jurota tells her their locations. Hiryu wonders how their locations were uncovered only to notice one of Denki's pointers on Jurota's body. Just then, Ibara captures Denki and brings him forward. Denki fires his elctricity at pointer just as Ibara starts covering him in her vines, but Hiryu knocks it off Jurota's body and away from him with his scales. Just as Hiryu tells Ibara to respread her vines, she falls under Hitoshi's brainwashing, as it was revealed to be his voice sounding like Hiryu. It is then revealed that Denki offered to use himself as a decoy to give Tsuyu and Hitoshi an opening. Jurota goes wild trying to find Hitoshi and is unable to communicate effectively with Hiryu due to worrying about Hitoshi's Quirk. Hiryu tries to attack Tsuyu with his scales but fails. He tries again to communicate with Jurota but gets kicked by Tsuyu. Just as Jurota finds Hitoshi, Hitoshi uses his binding cloth to bring down several pipes onto Jurota's head. Tsuyu then throws Hiryu into Jurota, defeating the both of them. Tsuyu and Hitoshi carry a restrained Hiryu to the jail cell while a brainwashed Ibara carries Jurota. Round 1 ends with a 4-2 victory for Class 1-A.

Round 1 Aftermath
After the match Shota asks his students to reflect on the match. Eijiro states it's hard for him to make good use of his Quirk when he's not trying to fight, Koji states he needs to give better orders to insects, Denki states he was great, Tsuyu regrets losing two teammates, and Hitoshi laments not making good use of what he's learned. Shota tells Eijiro to work on developing set-ups to lure his enemies to close-combat, tells Koji to work on his weak points, scolds Denki for being too careless from the get-go, and tells Tsuyu to not dwell on her mistakes and to work on making up for them next time.

Vlad King calls his students out on that no one was really acting as a leader, and had they did pick one, they would've won. All the other teams work to prepare effective strategies while Shota and Vlad King ask about Hitoshi's performance, as the training is going to be his exam for entering the hero course. Round 2 then begins between Team Yaoyorozu and Team Kendo.

Round 2
As the two teams head to their starting points, Itsuka asks Momo why she didn't participate in the Beauty Contest of the School Festival, she responds that Shota probably didn't tell her because he felt it wasn't important, and even so, she was busy with band practice. Itsuka then tells Momo that ever since they appeared in the commercial during their Workplace Experiences together, she feels that the two, of them have been seen as a pair, yet Itsuka considers Momo possesses a better Quirk than her own and that she has better grades, which irritated her. This results in Itsuka tells Momo that she wants to duke it out with her, to which Momo accepts. Shihai then approaches Fumikage and tells him that they are fated to clash because of their love of black and darkness. Just as the two sides are set, Round 2 begins.

Hanta asks Tetsutetsu what Itsuka's standing in Class 1-B to which he says she's like the class's big sister as their class president who is cheerful and keeps her wits up and that without her, the class would suffer under Neito. Shoto comments on whether Momo can pierce her operation.

Itsuka tells her team that they have to wait and see how powerful their enemy team is, just as Dark Shadow locates the four of them, as it is revealed Fumikage has increased the range of Dark Shadow during his Work Studies. Before Class 1-A can make their move, Dark Shadow warns Fumikage that he's been hijacked by Shihai, who immediately uses Dark Shadow to attack Fumikage. Momo fires some nets at him but he dodges with his Quirk Black. Fumikage tells Shihai that he accepts his challenge as he takes off his cloak and reveals his new super move: Black Fallen Angel, which he developed under his intership with Hawks.

In a flashback, it's revealed that Hawks picked Fumikage during the Hero Agency Internships because he wanted to know more about the League of Villains from the class that faced them and figured he'd work with someone who he felt could keep up with him. As the intership continued, Fumikage started to feel frustrated and confused as to why someone as fast as him had picked him when all he was doing was cleaning up after Hawks did his job, causing him to feel he learned nothing that week. When Hawks picked him for the Work Studies, Fumikage became determined to prove himself. One night, Hawks tells Fumikage that he also picked him because he felt he was wasting his potential by not trying to strengthen his strong points in addition to his weak points, and he wanted to help him as a fellow bird. This is what ultimately inspired his new Super Move.

In the present, as Fumikage readied himself for a fight, Shihai reveals that he was setting him up mentally since the beginning, as his real target was Yuga, whom he grabs and proceeds to drag away. Just as Shihai was thinking how they'd never catch up to him in a place filled with shadows to move through, Fumikage catches up to him with his Super Move, allowing him to rescue Yuga. Momo then tells Yuga to fire off his Naval Buffet while Fumikage flies around to change the shape of the shadows, exposing Shihai. Just as Toru charges to catch him, a mushroom pops up on Momo's nose, as it's revealed that if Shihai's Plan A failed, Kinoko would perform Plan B with her Quirk Mushroom.

Kinoko spreads mushrooms everywhere, causing Team Yaoyorozu to lose sight of Shihai in the swarm of mushrooms. As Momo tries to get her team to regroup, they are then attacked by giant letters courtesy of Manga's Quirk Comic, which he then uses to help Kinoko's mushrooms grow faster. As Momo realizes she's been separated from her team, she is attacked by Itsuka, who uses her Quirk to go all out on Momo, keeping her from coming up with an effective plan. As Tetsutetsu comments on Itsuka's performance of separating her, only for Shoto to say that Itsuka was misjudging Momo as she works best under pressure. Just then, Momo uses her Quirk to create a cannon, shocking Itsuka. Momo then fires a bag over the wall Manga made to her team. Fumikage tries to save Yuga from Shihai again but is constantly held back by Kinoko's mushrooms and Manga's words, allowing him to imprison Yuga and causing Fumikage to deduce that if they don't find their locations, they're done for. Just then, Momo's bag arrives to Fumikage, which is revealed to be a pair of infrared goggles and three cans of ethanol, a fungal spray, allowing him to destroy Kinoko's mushrooms and locate Shihai and Kinoko to attack both of them. He has Dark Shadow restrain Kinoko while he traps Shihai in his cape. Before he can do anything, Fumikage starts coughing, as it's revealed by Kinoko that she has mushrooms growing in his lungs, to which Neito comments that Fumikage should have knocked Kinoko out from the get-go.

Toru starts attacking Manga but ends up getting grabbed by Itsuka with her Quirk, where Itsuka reveals to Manga that while she knocked Momo out, she ended up tying her up to the cannon, making it hard to move. She comments that Momo looked far ahead and was one step ahead of her, causing her to feel that she didn't win in the end. Nevertheless, Class 1-B bring the three of them to the jail cell, securing a 4-0 victory.

Round 2 Aftermath
Kinoko tells Fumikage to take medicine for the mushrooms while apologizing to him and Momo is taken to get treated. The teachers decide to take a break while commenting on how much destruction there was and reprimand Manga and Itsuka for it. All Might talks with Izuku about One For All and to take care in the fifth match while he himself talks to Gran Torino. Katsuki comes in and tells Izuku to hurry up and get stronger. Round 3 then begins between Team Todoroki and Team Tetsutetsu.

Round 3
Both teams head to their respective sides. On Team Todoroki, Tenya reveals he's in high spirits because his brother was making good progress on his recovery, causing him to feel to uphold his name as his brother's inheritor. On Team Tetsutetsu, Tetsutetsu comments on how he was able to get into UA despite not being too bright as well as commenting how his team doesn't have anyone who can search out their enemy, causing him to just go wild and break stuff. His teammates complain to Juzo but he remains flexible in his approach. Shoto notices the noise and deduces that this will be a head-to-head battle.

As Shoto's team makes their move, Pony comments on how they were charging in so blindly. Juzo says that he'll use Mezo to determine the situation, for if they were leaving themselves so open, then that means they were setting up for Shoto to unleash his ice, which indeed happens. Tenya, who was watching from afar, notes that they were trying to freeze the ground so Juzo couldn't use his Quirk and that they would attack when their movements were dulled. However, just as Tenya starts moving, Juzo activates his Quirk on the ice, making it soft while commenting that getting hit with ice would make it much easier for them. Mashirao stumbles on a softened pipe as Juzo states he left a few soft spots as traps, allowing Sen to get in close to fight him. Tenya is unable to get to Mashirao due to Juzo's Quirk eliminating his foothold.

Pony attacks Mezo and Shoto with her Quirk, stating that Mezo would have to be hiding within the limit's safety zone and around Shoto. Tetsutetsu then tackles Shoto with his combination Super Move Horn Dash Hammer. Meanwhile back with Juzo and Tenya, Juzo states he wanted to deal with Tenya due to his Quirk's time limit. As he prepares to back up Tetsutetsu, Tenya shocks him by revealing a new Super Move: Recipro Turbo, which allows him to run for 10 minutes as opposed to 10 seconds. He breaks free of the softened ice and proceeds to fight Juzo, causing him to retreat for the time being. Tenya catches up to Mashirao who is still fighting Sen and grabs him. He then tells Mashirao to back up Shoto while he puts Sen away. Sen tries to escape and questions Tenya on why he didn't pursue Juzo, resulting in Tenya stating his brother would've done the same.

Shoto tries to hold Tetsutetsu back with his ice before resorting to using his fire. As he tells Mezo to deal with Pony, Tetsutetsu reveals that his Quirk has increased his resistance to both ice and fire. He continues his attack on Shoto as Shoto recalls his past with his father. This causes Shoto to unleash fire stronger than Endeavor's, but it still doesn't stop Tetsutetsu, who yells that they need to go beyond their limits in training or they'll never be able to do it in real life. Pony decides to back up Tetsutetsu so she unleashes her Super Move on Mezo, only for him to fire his own back. Mashirao manages to arrive on the scene just in time to protect Mezo from one of Pony's horns and grabs her horns to keep her back. Before Mezo can go and back up Shoto, Juzo arrives to help her. Just as he planned to force Mashirao to let go, Mashirao spins around to blow him away and propel Mezo out of the mud. Pony tells Juzo to go while she uses her horns to propel Mashirao into their team's jail cell while the two of them continue to fight. When Juzo arrives at Tetsutetsu's location, he knocks debris on Shoto's head and then hardens him into the ground. Tenya then rushes in and kickes Juzo in the face, breaking his mask, and running off with the downed Shoto. Unable to lose, Juzo softens a large pipe and has Tetsutetsu knock it down on the two of them. When the dust settles, all four of them are down.

Pony catches up to the field and grabs her teammates and Shoto. She realizes she can't turn around to fight Mezo and isn't fast enough to deliver Shoto to the prison without getting caught, so she decides to wait out the match to prevent her team from losing. After 20 minutes pass, the match is announced a draw with 1-1 on each side.

Round 3 Aftermath
Shoto, Tenya, Mashirao, Tetsutetsu, and Juzo are taken to the infirmary. As Shoto wakes up, Tetsutetsu tells Shoto that even though it was a tie, he still feels he lost. Tenya apologizes to Shoto for not being fast enough but Shoto apologizes himself, thinking back to how Tenya helped him and realizing what Juzo meant when he said starting with his ice made it easier for him. Juzo then appears and tells the two of them he had trouble with their attacks and if they can have a rematch in the future, to which the two accept. Round 4 then begins with Team Bakugo and Team Tokage.

Round 4
As both sides make their way through the field, Katsuki yells for his team to hurry up. Kyoka tells Katsuki that she's trying to listen to sounds as she goes only for Katsuki to tell her and the rest of them to just follow him while he goes on the offense. When Katsuki spots someone, Kyoka tries to pick up soundwaves, only to realize it's a trap, as the team is ambushed by Setsuna and her Quirk. Hanta uses his Quirk to create a barricade to block the split parts only for the team to get covered and trapped in Kojiro's Quirk. Togaru uses his Quirk to drop a pipe on the team only for Katsuki to blow it away. He tries to get the drop on Kyoka but Katsuki blows him away, as she thinks back to how he said he would save them if they were in a pinch. Katsuki then declares that they will obtain a flawless victory with no injuries.

As Kojiro makes a retreat, it's revealed prior that Setsuna said that they need to advance Katsuki's team and keep their own distance, while waiting for the right moment Katsuki slips up and the rest fall with him. Katsuki proceeds to chase Kojiro, but Yosetsu gets the drop on Katsuki by using his Super Move to trap Katsuki in place, only for Rikido to use his Quirk to free him, allowing him to continue chasing Yosetsu. As Yosetsu sets himself up for Katsuki, he gets out of the way and leaves him for Hanta and Kyoka, who defeats him using her Super Move. Katsuki catches up to Kojiro and douses him in his explosions, allowing Rikido to grab him. Both Neito and Setsuna are left shocked by Team Katsuki's flawless teamwork and lack of a noticeable gap. Hanta and Kyoka tell Katsuki that Setsuna can only leave her body split into pieces for a limited time before she's forced to reform herself, just as Katsuki defeats Togaru with his Super Move. Setsuna notices a grenade taped to a piece of her as it gets closer. She manages to get out of the way only for Katsuki to get the drop on her and defeat her with a Zero Distance Stun Grenade. She declares he changed too much only for him to state he's still the same and he'll still surpass All Might.

Round 4 Aftermath
Team Katsuki is announced the winner with a 4-0 victory in five minutes. Shota praised the team for their teamwork while Vlad King tells his students that while they had a solid approach, they fell apart too quickly. Class 1-A praise Katsuki for his performance and Izuku tells that he'll surpass him. Round 5 begins with Team Midoriya and Team Monoma.

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 he usually does.
 * 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 has now begun to grow inside Izuku to the point that he is now 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.

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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