Chapter 40

Emancipation (れ) is the fortieth chapter of Kōhei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia.

Summary
Shoto has activated his fire power. Endeavor, filled with joy and happy to see his son finally deciding to use his fire power, walks down from the bleachers to watch the match at a closer range, telling Shoto to surpass him and realize his ambition. Both Shoto and Izuku power up for their final attack; Shoto launches a great wave of ice at Izuku while Izuku jumps using One For All to get as close to Shoto as he can and launches a great wind pressure blast at Shoto. Cementoss creates a cement wall between the two combatants in an attempt to stop them. However, both Izuku and Shoto press onwards with their attacks. After thanking Izuku to himself, Shoto uses his fire power to ignite the cold (generated by his wave of ice) to create a huge wind blast which, along with Izuku's wind pressure attack, creates a huge shock wave which blasts both of them back and destroys Cementoss' cement wall in the process. The shock wave is felt throughout the entire arena

After the shock wave subsides and the dust and smoke clears, Shoto is seen standing in the ring with a quarter of his shirt ripped off and without any injuries. Izuku, however, is standing out of bounds. Izuku finally succumbs to his grievous wounds and falls flat onto the ground. Shoto is declared the winner and thus Izuku is eliminated from the tournament event.

Shoto leaves the ring and encounters his father in the corridor. Endeavor tells Shoto that he is proud of him for accepting to use his fire power and that he has become the perfect upgrade of him. He goes on to say that after he graduates, he will let Shoto become his sidekick. However, Shoto tells Endeavor that he cannot change so easily and hasn't rescinded his disavowal of him. Shoto then says the only reason he used his fire power was because for a split second he completely forgot about him (Endeavor). As he walks away, Shoto says that he needs to contemplate about his fire power.

Izuku is taken to Recovery Girl's office to have his wounds attended to. She scolds All Might for making Izuku push his limits and tells All Might not to try and praise Izuku for going so far. Suddenly, Izuku's friends; Ochaco, Tenya, Tsuyu and Minoru enter Recovery Girl's room, wanting to see how Izuku was doing. However, she makes them leave, saying that Izuku is going to undergo surgery. Izuku, even though he is weak and in pain from his severe injuries, apologizes to All Might for being unable to live up to his expectations and that all he wanted to do was help Shoto after seeing his sadness. Izuku then asks All Might for his forgiveness. All Might responds by saying that his match was simply an unfortunate outcome but praises Izuku for helping Shoto with his problem, saying that reaching out and helping people with their personal problems is one of the principal qualities of a Hero, happy that Izuku has such a quality.