Deku and the Top Three Heroes, plus The Lurkers, confront All For One at his hideout in Haibori Woods, only to find it abandoned. A recording left by All For One taunts Deku for his failures, telling him it's "his turn", before setting the mansion to explode. The Heroes escape and reconvene to discuss their options, due to the dwindling amount of Heroes left available. Meanwhile, Deku swiftly deals with the second hitman, while All Might desperately attempts to convince him to rest. Deku believes that since he can use practically use One For All at 100% without backlash, he doesn't have to watch over him anymore, and All Might can only look on devastatingly as Deku flies away, leaving him behind. Over the next several days, Deku proceeds to tirelessly travel through the city, saving whoever he can, ignoring the Heroes and the One For All predecessors' advice to take it easy. Because of this, Deku starts taking on a more monstrous appearance, with civilians scared of him and rumours going around that he is a Nomu, yet he refuses to stop, all so that he and everyone he cares about can smile again. He begins to collapse in Kamino where he confronts another hitman, Dictator, who uses his Quirk to attack Deku using nearby civilians. Due to being too tired, Deku is unable to fight and is swarmed by the mob, until he is saved by Bakugo who knocks Dictator out. After having received Deku's letters, Class 1-A figured out that Deku and All Might were working with Endeavor, and use Nezu to summon him to the school to confirm this. They state their desire to help their classmate in his moment of need and Nezu approves of them going out onto the streets to bring him back. Class 1-A confront Deku, who refuses to give in and demands they get out of his way, preparing to fight.

Prior to rescuing Izuku, Nezu explained to Class 1-A the intricacies designed into the U.A. Barrier to keep it fortified from villains and to protect the civilians inside. In the present, the civilians protest Izuku's entry, believing his presence will put everyone in the school in danger. Best Jeanist tries to explain everything to get them to understand, but his words only make the crowd even more anxious over the Heroes' failures, stressing Izuku out. Ochaco then grabs the megaphone and floats on top of U.A., giving a speech pleading to the civilians to let Izuku rest because Heroes deserved to be saved too. As a result, the civilians start to see how battered and tired Izuku is, and by the end of her speech, Izuku breaks down on his knees in tears. He is comforted by Kota and the mutant woman he saved earlier. One of the civilians speaks out to the rest of the crowd, admitting how much like bystanders they have been in their treatment towards the Heroes and that they should be doing their part to help in some way. After Izuku declares he will bring the world back to the way it was, the civilians accept him as he is escorted inside. Meanwhile, Nezu speaks to a recovering Aizawa in the Central Hospital, revealing that they had transferred Kurogiri to the location after the discovery of him being Shirakumo's Nomu, attempting to re-awaken him. Outside U.A., All Might leaves to find more civilians, thinking about his influence Izuku's current state, all the while Stain continues to follow him.