Chapter 312

Hired Gun is the three hundred and twelfth chapter of Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia.

Summary
Before leaving the hospital, Izuku had a conversation with Keigo about some concerns he had for the young hero. He is aware that Tomura and All For One are trying to steal One For All by force and without Kyudai Garaki and his facilities, to preserve any Quirks, he knows that they need Izuku alive. He also knows that while that would be a challenge for many villains, if "she" is involved, then it's another story. Hawks mentions someone who was previously a senior colleague of his, and hunting her down is his top priority, so if he crosses paths with her, all he can advise him to do is run.

In the present, Deku looks at the bullet that destroyed his phone and sees it is made out of pink and dark-blue fibers, and deduces that the very woman he was warned about had come for him; Lady Nagant, a former Pro Hero employed by the Hero Public Safety Commission. Deku tries to run but Lady Nagant fires another bullet which chases him. Deku knows that with his signal gone, the others will know something is wrong, but he can't tell them that it is Lady Nagant who is chasing him. He uses Danger Sense, as well as Blackwhip to swing across the buildings, to try and avoid them. She says that he doesn't have any options as the bullet catches up to him and aims at him from the front. He does his best to block it but he still gets hurt, likening it to a Howitzer Shot, as she says she understands why All For One wants him.

In the past, Snipe appeared on a show about heroes to watch and says that if it wasn't for Lady Nagant, he would be Japan's top marksman. He explains how his Quirk, Homing, lets him shoot anything within six hundred meters, but with Lady Nagant and her Rifle Quirk, not only can she shoot from a range of three kilometers, attributing her to also being naturally skillful, but she can also mold her hair into any type of ammunition she wants.

Deku remembers watching that and how fast she is, and how if it wasn't for Danger Sense, he would have been finished by now. Thanks to that first shot though, Deku deduces where she is now: about one kilometer ahead of him, and figures that instead of trying to endure the barrage and escape, he decides to confront her instead. Lady Nagant is surprised Deku managed to block two of her shots as she hears Kai Chisaki continuously asking to be brought to the boss. She grabs him and tells him that she will once they are done, but for now he needs to keep out of sight while wondering if she should have left him behind.

Back when All For One liberated Tartarus, he approached Lady Nagant, telling her it was an honour to meet the "treacherous hero", while she reminisces how he was one of her targets back in the day. He informs her about Deku's eventual departure from U.A. High School and asks her to capture and bring him to him while he is split up from the other Heroes. When she asks why she gets an assignment unlike the other inmates, he reminds her how she killed a fellow Hero and that she wants the Hero Society to collapse as well, and as long as Deku remains, that dream will never come to pass.

All For One also recognizes Kai with Lady Nagant and asks if he is her friend, but she retorts that she is using his broken mental state for her own purposes, as All For One identifies him as another victim of the 'wicked' Hero Society. Nevertheless, Lady Nagant agrees to help him and as a deposit for their newly formed contract, he gives her his Quirk Air Walk, therefore giving her the ability to fly as well.

Chapter Notes

 * The mystery assassin is revealed to be a former Public Safety Commission Hero known as Lady Nagant.
 * Her Quirk, Rifle, allows her to transform her right arm into a rifle, which has the capacity to shoot up to a range of three kilometers.
 * She can also fashion her pink and dark-blue colored hair into bullets which can be hardened and shot through the rifle.
 * She was assigned by All For One to capture Izuku, giving her his Air Walk Quirk to help assist in the job.
 * Keigo confirms that during the Paranormal Liberation War, they managed to raid all of Kyudai's facilities, meaning All For One needs to capture Izuku alive.