The following article contains spoilers from the recent chapters of My Hero Academia (290). Read ahead at your own discretion!

Shigaraki is pretty much beat-up in the ongoing battle against pro heroes. The incomplete process of transferring All For One into him is one of the major reasons why this has happened. In fact, his body is in such a bad state that the visage of All For One, that is trying to take control over his body, wants him to flee with Gigantomachia. 

Shigaraki is averse to being controlled by All For One, and also to the idea of fleeing from the battlefield. He wants to stick to his warped views and continue tormenting the society. But he can’t continue fighting for long unless his body is fixed.

There is only so much that his regeneration quirk can do! And he was already on his last spider legs before Machia broke them.

However, there might be a way out for Shigaraki from this bleak scenario. And if it indeed happens then it will be a brutal sucker punch for the pro-heroes.

One arm to rule them all!

Let’s jog our memories a bit. Post the Shie Hassaikai arc, the League of Villains led by Shigaraki had attacked the convoy carrying Overhaul. While the focus was mainly on the quirk deleting rounds that Chisaki had engineered using Eri, there was a small detail here which might come back to haunt the hero society soon.

While stealing the bullets, we see that Atsuhiro (Mr.Compress) uses his quirk to compress Chisaki’s left arm. Shigaraki then proceeds to decay the former Yakuza boss’ right arm too. This rendered Chisaki unable to use his quirk. 

Now, coming back to the current scenario, Atsuhiro (Mr. Compress) has arrived along with the League of Villains and Gigantomachia to where Shigaraki is. Atsuhiro’s quirk allows him to compress and store any object in a spherical area in the form of small marbles. The objects that are stored in the marble are safe from being damaged. So, even though Chisaki’s arm was not in the limelight till now, it is safe to assume that it is in the best possible condition.

Seeing that Shigaraki is in a bad state, Atsuhiro could give Chisaki’s arm to his boss so that he could repair his body. 

Shigaraki currently has All For One quirk. He just needs to touch someone to steal their quirk. But Mr. Compress only has Chisaki’s arms. Can Shigaraki steal the Overhaul quirk just by touching Chisaki’s arms? 

Chisaki’s arms are his quirk factor. Meaning, the primary mechanisms of the quirk and biological enhancements to the body that are needed for the quirk to function are present in his arm. In short, Chisaki’s hands are what carries his quirks. 

So, if Shigaraki touches his arm, he can comfortably steal his quirk. Overhaul allows the user to disassemble and reassemble their body in any configuration that they need. This feature was exhibited by Chisaki during the Shie Hassaikai arc while he fought Deku. If Shigaraki does end up stealing Overhaul, he can use this ability to repair his body and remove whatever faults it has. 

Sayonara Hero Society!

In order to cause a mass genocide and utter destruction of the hero society Shigaraki has to overcome the hurdles of pro heroes and his dysfunct body which can’t currently handle the strains of the quirk All For One. If Shigaraki rebuilds his body or merges it with someone using Overhaul quirk to make it more compatible with All For One, it would make him a sentient being with powers beyond imagination. It’s not as if there are many heroes who can stop him even now. 

The process that stopped at 75% can now be completed by simple reassemble and reassemble. Shigaraki has already awakened his decay quirk, leaving behind unparalleled destruction in his wake. He is not able to use the other quirks in All For One probably because of the physical restrictions we mentioned above. If he overcomes that then there is certainly no stopping Shigaraki. His superhuman regeneration, Decay and Overhaul quirk are enough to make him utterly invincible. 

Eri is our only hope.

This would also make the Shie Hassaikai arc leave behind an unparalleled legacy. First deleter rounds, and then helping create the most powerful villain ever.

Now consider this scenario…

What if Shigaraki merges with Gigantomachia? We rest our case.

Even if Shigaraki isn’t able to take Overhaul’s quirk, think what would happen if Toga uses the blood from Chisaki’s arm and then…… let’s leave it at that.

There is a huge sense of foreboding in the current arc of My Hero Academia. Look no further than the title of the current Saga, “Rise of the Villains”, to get hints about how it could end. Endeavor is at his wit’s end after finding out that Dabi is Touya Todoroki. Deku, Bakugo, Aizawa and the others are not in a position to fight. While it’s true that these aren’t the only pro-heroes or the strongest, most of the characters that we are acquainted with in My Hero Academia are not in a state to keep on fighting. 

The students from other schools could show up. But for us, the sensible outcome is a loss for the heroes. This could push Japan’s hero society into a dark phase and allow Horikoshi to introduce a time-skip or something similar where the protags get stronger.