WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia #316, by Kohei Horikoshi, Caleb Cook and John Hunt, available now in English from Viz Media.
My Hero Academia Chapter 316 continues the manga's recent breakneck pace, covering the aftermath of the Lady Nagant battle before leaping straight into the next high-stakes confrontation. Lady Nagant reveals crucial information on All For One, yet Deku's archenemy retains the upper hand -- and may even have gotten some notable heroes killed.
The chapter begins with Endeavor and Hawks arriving just in time to witness the explosion that All For One remotely triggered in the previous chapter. Hawks makes a bold dive to catch Lady Nagant before she plummets to the the unforgiving concrete of the cityscape below, but his wings haven't yet regrown enough to make the save. Straining himself, Deku snags both of them with Blackwhip and fills Hawks in on how the extra Quirk that Lady Nagant received must have been booby-trapped.
Hawks then introduces himself to Lady Nagant, saying he's her successor. He urges her to remember her old ideals as a hero and tell them what she knows about All For One. Lady Nagant wonders how Hawks has still retained hope for the future despite having had to do horrible things as her successor. It makes her remember her younger self before the Hero Commission killed her idealism, so she decides to help them.Within two months, she reveals, she was supposed to bring her target to a mansion within Haibori Woods. But it wasn't just her ... All For One has others out hunting for Deku.
Meanwhile, Endeavor has rounded up Overhaul, who is distraught and yelling at an unconscious Lady Nagant to take him to his boss. Deku notices how intent Overhaul is on apologizing to his boss and strikes him a deal: if he's willing to extend that remorse towards Eri, they'll honor his agreement with Lady Nagant. The scene concludes with Hawks and Endeavor yelling for medical help as Deku's injuries catch up with him and he drifts away ...
Days or weeks later, Endeavor, Deku and the hero team known as The Lurkers (consisting of Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods and Edgeshot) arrive before the Haibori Woods mansion. Deku enters with the determination to defeat All For One and Shigaraki, knowing how they're not yet capable of stealing One For All from him. But the mansion is deserted.
The only thing there is a video screen of All For One, who gleefully tells him that he predicted all of this -- Deku trying to save Lady Nagant, their arrival at the mansion, all of it. "The path you've chosen is a thorny one," he says. "Every battle grinds away at your soul with no end in sight. Can you guess who was on my mind the entire time I was in jail? You."
He finishes by saying that All Might no longer interests him. It's now Deku's turn to be his plaything.
Then the mansion explodes, with Deku and all his fellow heroes in it.
My Hero Academia Chapter 317 will release on June 20th through Viz Media.
