WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Chapter 344, "Stars,” by Kohei Horikoshi, Caleb Cook and John Hunt, available now in English from Viz Media.
When All Might revealed his plan to stop All For One, it was painfully clear that separating Shigaraki Tomura from his master would be next to impossible. Both villains would easily win a battle of raw power, so the heroes were forced to engage in a subtler manner of warfare. Entrapping the aspiring Demon Lord required some expertise that most Pro Heroes didn't have, giving Neito Monoma and Hitoshi Shinso the opportunity to shine in My Hero Academia.
Despite All For One's overwhelming power, he's crafty enough to never intentionally enter a situation that doesn't guarantee his victory. One of his many Quirks gave him the ability to distinguish truth from lies, and until now it had been invaluable in saving him from many a sticky situation. As usual, he activated this Quirk while discussing Deku's location with the Aoyamas -- but none of their statements triggered it. All For One never realized it but, throughout their conversation, the Aoyamas were actually under Shinso's control.
Shinso's Brainwashing Quirk allows him to control the actions of anyone who responds to his question. When he was first introduced, he couldn't give those under his control complicated instructions or have them speak, but a period under Eraserhead's tutelage developed his Quirk further. Now these new capabilities have made him the cornerstone of All Might's plan. Shinso controlled the Aoyamas and lulled All For One into a false sense of security -- and right into the heroes' trap.
This gambit, however, was only one part of the plan that has allowed the heroes to corner All For One. Directing the villain to a hero's stronghold would never have worked as he was keeping close tabs on their activities. Thanks to Ragdoll's Search Quirk, All For One could instantly verify the positions of many top Pro Heroes and avoided areas where they were concentrated. Therefore, their next hurdle was to figure out how to ferry a squad of Pro Heroes to his ambush point almost instantaneously.
The clearest solution was to take advantage of Kurogiri's Warp Gate Quirk but since the villain himself was out of commission, the heroes had to access his Quirk through other means -- which is where Neito Monoma comes in. When Eraserhead first suggested copying Warp Gate to him, Monoma balked. Mastering another's Quirk within a matter of days was a daunting enough task, but one as complicated as Warp Gate felt almost impossible. Nevertheless, Monoma pushed past his limits and judging by the results, his efforts weren't in vain.
My Hero Academia has stressed since its beginning that Quirks alone do not make a hero, and no characters illustrate this sentiment better than Monoma and Shinso. Both of them were overlooked time and again because of their non-combat-oriented Quirks, but their refusal to give up on their goals gave them the exact tools they needed to shine at this crucial moment.
Of course, this doesn't mean their stories in My Hero Academia are over. Eraserhead's inability to use his Quirk might mean Monoma will have to fill in yet again, while Shinso has only just scratched the surface of his Quirk's potential. They're definitely a duo to continue watching out for during this war.
