My Hero Academia chapter 416: How did Deku reach Shigaraki's past? Explored

My Hero Academia chapter 416 was leaked this week, and many different scenes were taking place, mainly focusing on the remaining heroes watching Izuku "Deku" Midoriya's fight with Tomura Shigaraki. However, the final moments of the chapter were the most prominent, showing Izuku about to punch Shigaraki and ending up in front of the latter's house when he was a kid.

This cliffhanger in My Hero Academia chapter 416 allows Deku to witness the final moments of Tenko Shimura's childhood before turning into Tomura Shigaraki, which could prove to be pivotal in the final battle. However, many fans want to understand how Deku could reach that particular moment in Shigaraki's past, which could seem a bit convenient for the protagonist and his goal.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the My Hero Academia series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

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Explaining how Deku managed to reach Shigaraki's past in My Hero Academia chapter 416

There is no explanation in My Hero Academia chapter 416 of how Deku managed to access Tomura Shigaraki's childhood when he was Tenko Shimura. This could be something author Kohei Horikoshi explores in the following chapter or even ignores. However, some explanations exist for how this could have happened if some headcannons had been used.

There is the possibility that some of the vestiges of the One For All Quirk who have accessed Shigaraki's psyche could have pushed Deku in that direction, which was the plan they had already established. Furthermore, the Star and Stripe vestige pointed at Tomura's childhood wound, which could also be another possibility of how the protagonist reached that point.

There is also the chance that Deku could have weakened Shigaraki until a point where his defenses were low, and he was a lot more capable of reaching that memory of his. However, considering the protagonist's reaction in the final panels, it seems that it is something that he didn't fully understand, so there is a very good chance that this could be explained in the coming chapter.

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Predictions for the next chapter

Shigaraki and Deku in the anime (Image via Bones)

My Hero Academia chapter 416 sets up Deku to witness Shigaraki's childhood and what led him down the path of evil. This will probably be one of the most important moments in the entire series because it will either make or break the resolution of Shigaraki's character and the motivation behind Deku's actions.

There have been a lot of different opinions regarding the character of Shigaraki and what has driven his actions, which is why many people don't believe that he should be redeemed. Therefore, it is going to be interesting to see how Deku reacts to the abuse Tenko Shimura went through, his family dying, and the input of All For One to turn the kid into a monster.

It will be a major moment in the series, and author Kohei Horikoshi will need to bring out the best in his writing skills because this moment could define a lot of the story.

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Final thoughts

My Hero Academia chapter 416 didn't explain how Deku accessed Tomura Shigaraki's childhood memories. Sure, it was done by the One For All transfer, but there is no explanation of how Deku managed to reach that specific memory of the villain's mind, as shown through the protagonist's expression at the end of the chapter.

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