Atsuhiro Sako

Atsuhiro Sako, also known as Mr. Compress (コンプレス), is a villain affiliated with the League of Villains and a member of the organization's Vanguard Action Squad. He is known for being one of the smartest villains in the world and acts as the brains of the League of Villains. He and the rest of his team serve as the main antagonists of the Forest Training Camp Arc.

Appearance
Atsuhiro is a tall and slender man with brown eyes. As Mr. Compress, he wears gloves, an azure bolo necktie, a large golden overcoat, boots, and a top hat with a red band attached to a feather. Under his coat, Atsuhiro wears a red shirt and a black waistcoat. Following the events of the Internship Arc, he acquired a robotic prosthetic arm.

Mr. Compress' face is covered by a balaclava and a white mask with black motifs. He changes the appearance of his mask at the turn of every story arc.

In the Forest Training Camp Arc, the mask bears large, stylized eyes and teeth, exhibiting what appears to be a grin.

In the Hideout Raid Arc, the top half of the mask is painted with parallel vertical lines, while the lower half has diagonal lines that meet along the vertical axis of the mask.

At the end of the Hero License Exam Arc and at the start of the Internship Arc, the mask Mr. Compress wears sports a black dot at the center of the upper half, while the lower half bears oblique lines that seem to converge towards it.

During the Internship Arc, he dons two more masks: one which bears resemblance to a frown, and a plain one with a black dot where each of Mr. Compress's eyes would be.

Personality
Atsuhiro is a showman at heart who likes to command every event he's a part of and be as flashy and entertaining as possible. He is talkative, humorous and arrogant with his allies and enemies alike.

Mr. Compress has a habit of monologuing and showing off his entertainer skills. This has proven to be a flaw in Atsuhiro's skills as a villain. He allowed the Bakugo Escort Squad to catch him because he spent so much time monologuing. Mr. Compress also nearly lost possession of Katsuki after taking a moment to bow after his victory.

He has a vengeful side as he wasted no time in compressing half of Kai Chisaki's arm after the latter had destroyed his arm.

History
At some point in his life, Atsuhiro worked as an entertainer before turning to a life of crime.

Forest Training Camp Arc
Mr. Compress is recruited to the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains. He is one of the last villains to arrive at the Beast's Forest. Mr. Compress takes the students by surprise when he introduces himself while balancing on a tree branch. He explains that he took Katsuki with his "magic". Angry, Izuku demands that the villain return Katsuki.

Mr. Compress replies that Katsuki's talents would be wasted as a hero, and says Izuku is arrogant for trying to claim Katsuki for his own. Shoto tries to freeze the villain but he evades and continues taunting the young heroes. He says Katsuki is drowning in a society of heroism and the Vanguard Action Squad wishes to show him another way.

Mezo notices that Fumikage is missing as well. Shoto wonders what the villain's Quirk could be and warns him not to underestimate the boys. Mr. Compress explains he improvised on taking Fumikage because he defeated Moonfish so easily, and violently. Shoto tries to freeze Mr. Compress with a massive ice wave, but the showman avoids it. Mr. Compress admits he's not much of a combatant and then radios the Vanguard Action Squad to meet at the rendezvous point.

Mr. Compress moves quickly through the treetops towards the meeting point. Izuku, Shoto, and Mezo tackle him out of the air and slam him into the ground at the planned rendezvous area. Dabi warns his ally to get out of the way. Mr. Compres complies and compresses himself into a marble. After Dabi forces them away, Mr. Compress reverts to his normal form. He complains that they ruined his exit and Dabi asks about Katsuki. Mr. Compress rummages through his pockets and finds that the marbles are missing. Mezo reveals that he stole them and surmises that Katsuki and Fumikage are sealed inside them.

The boys flee and Dabi wants to pursue them, but Mr. Compress tells him to wait. Kurogiri arrives to take the villains back to safety. Mr. Compress tells Dabi he was impressed with the boy's efforts so he allowed them to gloat. The showman turns his attention to the boys and tells them that he flashed those fake marbles to hide the real ones. He moves his mask aside and reveals he has held the real marbles inside his mouth the entire time. Mr. Compress reverts the fake marbles into ice, revealing that he took Shoto's ice and compressed it to fool his pursuers.

Before entering Kurogiri's Warp Gate, Mr. Compress takes one final bow. This leaves him open to a surprise attack from Yuga who's hiding in the bushes. Yuga's navel laser blasts Mr. Compress in the face, breaking his mask and forcing the marbles out of his mouth. Dabi catches one of them and orders Mr. Compress to release them. He reverts Katsuki and Fumikage back to normal after complaining that Yuga ruined his finale. Dabi holds Katsuki by the neck and drags him through the portal, completing the League of Villains mission.

Hideout Raid Arc
After watching the video clip about U.A.'s public apology, Tomura understands why society is criticizing U.A. for their failure and that is because the current Hero society is not just. Spinner agrees that the current Hero society is not just since the modern Heroes are only doing their job for compensation and not out of selflessness. Tomura explains that the League of Villains are fighting for a just society and intends to win this battle. Tomura orders Dabi to remove Katsuki’s restrains, although Dabi is unsure since Katsuki might attack; Tomura wants to treat Katsuki as an equal and is aware that Katsuki knows he has no possibility of winning. Dabi has Twice remove the restrains. As Twice removes the restrains, Mr. Compress apologizes to Katsuki for forcibly kidnapping him and explains that the League of Villains are not just a group of hoodlums perpetuating crimes nor did they casually abduct him; he goes on by saying that everyone in the League of Villains is shackled by the current society and hopes that Katsuki understands their discrimination.

Katsuki’s restraints are removed. As Tomura approaches Katsuki, Katsuki attacks Tomura with his Explosions. Katsuki tells the League of Villains that it is pointless to try and make him change his mind as he has already been won over by the way All Might looks when he wins. Katsuki says that from the beginning he has dreamed of becoming a Hero and surpassing All Might and nothing they say will change that.

Katsuki tries intimidating his captors, but Mr. Compress along with the rest of the Vanguard Action Squad are not intimidated; Mr. Compress states that if Katsuki was moronic, he would have listened to them and is disappointed in Katsuki's decision to go against them.

Tomura orders Mr. Compress to use his Quirk on Katsuki again. Mr. Compress is impressed with Katsuki's stubbornness. Before he has the chance to, All Might breaks in with Kamui Wood swinging in and restrains Mr. Compress along with the other League of Villains with his Lacquered Chains Prison. Mr. Compress realizes that U.A.'s public broadcast apology was just a diversion to catch him and his fellow villains off guard.

Out of nowhere, Nomus appear from a mysterious back liquid which takes the Pro Heroes off guard. Mr. Compress along with the League of Villains are teleported by the mysterious black liquid to the League of Villains' destroyed warehouse where All For One is.

All For One forcefully activates Kurogiri's Quirk which creates a portal for the League of Villains to escape through. Mr. Compress uses his Quirk on the unconscious Dabi and tells Tomura that they need to leave. Seeing that Katsuki won't go with them willingly, Mr. Compress along with Twice and Himiko battle Katsuki but Katsuki fends them off with Explosions.

After Katsuki is rescued by Izuku, Tenya and Eijrou, Mr. Compress along with Magne and Spinner hatch a plan to recapture Katsuki. Magne magnetizes Mr. Compress and Spinner pushes him, causing Mr. Compress to fly at Izuku's group. Suddenly, Mount Lady uses Titan Cliff and intercepts Mr. Compress, which causes them to smash into each other, preventing Mr. Compress from getting to the students. Mr. Compress falls to the ground and becomes unconscious due to Mount Lady's attack.

Mr. Compress along with Tomura and the Vanguard Action Squad are forcefully magnetized by Magne's Quirk courtesy of All For One; Mr. Compress is sucked into Kurogiri's Warp Gate and teleported away.

Internship Arc
Overhaul enters the League of Villains hideout but is unimpressed with Tomura and his members as well as his unclean hideout. Overhaul explains to the League of Villains that with All For One's downfall, someone will eventually become the next ruler of the underworld. However, Tomura replies that he will become the next underworld ruler after he gathers more members and crushes the current Hero society. Overhaul asks Tomura if he has a plan, to which Tomura responds that he thought Overhaul wanted to join them. Overhaul is disappointed that Tomura doesn't have a plan to achieve his objective and laments that he wasted the potential of Stain, Muscular and Moonfish. Overhaul reveals that he wants the League of Villains to join him so that he can teach them the proper way to run an organization and use them to gain financial capital so that he can get one step closer to becoming the next underworld ruler.

As Tomura orders Overhaul to leave, Magne rejects this proposal and magnetizes Overhaul, bringing him into Magne's range. Magne hits Overhaul on the head with her weapon, to which Overhaul responds by touching Magne. Overhaul's physical contact causes Magne to blow up, much to the League of Villains' shock. Overhaul blames the League for throwing the first punch and dislikes the blood running down his face. Mr. Compress charges forward and touches Overhaul but his Compression Quirk does not activate due to being shot in the arm. Overhaul is enraged that he has been touched and completely disassembles Mr. Compress's left arm. Overhaul then calls his subordinates, who come crashing in. Seeing that both of their organizations have suffered casualties with the deaths of their respective members, Overhaul ceases fighting and leaves, wishing to talk with Tomura again after he has calmed down.

With the help of Twice and Himiko Toga, Mr. Compress and the League of Villains find and apprehend the police van escorting Overhaul. Sand Hero "Snatch" confronts them but after a brief skirmish, Mr. Compress compresses him into a sphere with some of Dabi's flames. The van transporting Overhaul crashes after hitting a boulder Mr. Compress threw into the road. Tomura and Mr. Compress confront Overhaul and tell him how much they hate him. Mr. Compress agrees with the statement and compresses part of Overhaul's left arm, severing it at the wrist as an act of revenge. Tomura decays Overhaul's right arm before cutting it and taunts the powerless yakuza about how he wanted others to lose their Quirks but now he himself is one of them. Overhaul is left speechless while the League of Villains walks away from the wreckage with the Quirk-Destroying bullets.

Abilities
Enhanced Speed & Reflexes: Mr. Compress is endowed with quick reflexes and impressive acrobatic skills. He was able to dodge Shoto's ice, even when the latter uses his Giant Ice Wall, with little effort, despite being on top of a tree. He is also very fast, quickly distancing himself from the U.A. students by running on the treetops.

Genius-Level Intellect: Mr. Compress considers himself an expert in deception and illusion. True to his words, he was able to restrain Katsuki and Fumikage without their comrades noticing, and he was spotted only when he decided to make his presence known. He also tricked his pursuers into thinking the marbles in his pockets were those of the two boys, while those were actually dummies he had prepared while dodging Todoroki's attack.

Stealth: Mr. Compress was able to activate his Quirk, requiring physical contact, on Katsuki and Fumikage while they were in a group of five people, among which was Mezou, whose Quirk grants him enhanced senses, demonstrating excellent stealth abilities. Likewise, he incapacitated Snatch by circling around and touching him while the latter was fighting Dabi. Compressing himself allows him to be carried anywhere without being detected.

Quirk
Compress (コンプレス): Mr. Compress's Quirk allows him to "compress" anything in a spherical area into a small marble without actually damaging it. The weight of the target is reduced alongside them, making them very easy to carry. If used on a person, it effectively entraps them, terminating the fight instantly and allowing Mr. Compress to abduct them without difficulty. The Quirk can also be used on select body parts, maiming the target.

Forest Training Camp Arc

 * Bakugo Escort Squad vs. Vanguard Action Squad

Shigaraki Tomura
Mr. Compress appears to have a sense of loyalty to Tomura similar to Kurogiri. His actions and instructions during the battle between All Might and All For One were thought out for Tomura's interest.

After his teammates escaped, Mr. Compress was seen alongside with Tomura while the other members were separated elsewhere.

League of Villains
Mr. Compress seems to genuinely care for his teammates. He does not view his teammates as merely hoodlums who commit acts out of just evil purposes. Rather, he seems to understand their circumstances and can relate to their situations.

During the battle between All Might and All For One, he took charge of the situation for the best interests of his teammates: instructing appropriate actions for Tomura and compressing Dabi in order to carry him to safety.

After the battle, he made sure that the members regularly contacted one another to make sure none of them are caught and puts them in danger.

Trivia

 * In one panel of Chapter 156, the chin portion of Mr. Compress's mask is painted black, whereas in all other cases it is white.

Quotes

 * (To several U.A. students) "We're just a bit fanatical when it comes to our values. All we wish is to show him that there are other ways. Because you kids today... you have your values chosen for you."

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Atsuhiro Sako