Warning: The following article contains spoilers for My Hero Academia, Chapter #330, "Me and Myself," by Kohei Horikoshi, Caleb Cook and John Hunt, available in English from Viz Media.
All For One piqued readers' curiosity with all he had to say about Star And Stripe in the previous chapter of MHA. After all, there isn't a more credible character in My Hero Academia when it comes to Quirks and how strong another character is. AFO has seen and knows more than anyone else.
This is why, when he expressed his hopes of stealing Star And Stripe's Quirk and called her the strongest woman around, fans couldn't wait to see her in action. All For One told Spinner that Star And Stripe would be their greatest obstacle and the ultimate opportunity. Chapter #330 shows Star And Stripe in action as she fights Shigaraki, making it clear that AFO was not exaggerating in the slightest.
All For One emphasized that if he succeeds in stealing Star And Stripe's Quirk, the rest of the war will be just a formality. Star And Stripe used her Quirk against Shigaraki in the latest chapter, and it's now understandable what AFO meant -- she has one of the most terrifying abilities in the entire series.
Star And Stripe's Quirk is called New Order. After touching a target and calling its name, she's able to assign a new rule to it. This ability is akin to Toge Inumaki's Cursed Speech technique in Jujutsu Kaisen, which forces his targets to do what he tells them. Neither ability is without its restrictions, however.
In Star And Stripe's case, she can only set rules for up to two different targets at once. She's always using the first rule on herself to grant her super strength. She can't conjure up strength on All Might's level, but evidently, she's strong enough. Shigaraki uses several incredibly powerful abilities against Star And Stripe, which easily kills the comrades with whom she was traveling. Among his new powers is the ability to reflect and scatter laser-type attacks.
Star and Stripe orders her comrades to shoot laser cannons at Shigaraki, and he responds with his refract and scatter ability. This isn't a problem for Star And Stripe, however, since she's able to literally catch lasers in her hands. Star And Stripe's previous attack along with the lasers did significant damage to Shigaraki, but his body quickly regenerated.
Shigaraki then opts to charge at Star And Stripe in a powerful aerial maneuver. This appears to be a mistake, as it's exactly what Star And Stripe wanted. She charges at him and is able to send him flying with an incredible punch. As she does this, she yells his name. He doesn't realize in the moment, but having touched him and said his name, Star and Stripe has met the requirements to assign a rule to him.
Star And Stripe traps Shigaraki beneath her and imposes a rule stating that if Tomura Shigaraki moves at all, his heart will stop. In his mind, he says she fell for it, implying that the situation is going according to plan. At that moment, AFO starts trying to manipulate Shigaraki's emotions from within him. It's not clear what exactly is happening with Shigaraki and AFO, but it seems they're very close to becoming one being.
As he tries to manipulate Shigaraki by fueling his hatred for him, he says that they're at around 97 or 98 percent and will become one soon enough. Interestingly, he goes on to say that they are no longer AFO nor Tomura Shigaraki -- they are melding into a new person altogether. Shigaraki desperately tries to resist AFO, so much so that he ends up moving as he yells in frustration. This surprises Star And Stripe since it means her Quirk isn't working.
Star And Stripe then begins to question if he isn't actually Tomura Shigaraki. No one, except perhaps AFO, really knows who or what he is at this point. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger, with the last panel implying that some sort of explosive power has been released. If Star And Stripe is defeated, AFO stealing her Quirk would undoubtedly have horrifying consequences. Endeavor, Hawks and Best Jeanist are still on their way, so hopefully, they'll prevent this from happening if it comes to that.
