'My Hero Academia' Spin-Off Teases Major Gang Connection

My Hero Academia likes to keep its focus on all its heroes, but the series has its share of baddies. The League of Villain may be the biggest ring of bad guys out there, but there are other gangs running about. And, as manga readers just noticed, the series' spin-off made a rather clever reference to an infamous villain organization just recently.

Not long ago, the latest chapter of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes went live. It was there fans met Knuckleduster after a brief time away, and the man had a gift for the local police.

"[It is a] client list, straight from a dealer in Hong Kong. You'll find some Japanese importers in there," the vigilante revealed, handing over information.

When asked why the supplier was willing to give up the information, Knuckleduster admitted brute force helped his cause. However, the Hong Kong dealer revealed he was supplying a group in Japan, and his reputation would be hit if that gang were to make their supplier public.

"This guy's been in business awhile and it'd be bad for his rep if people knew another underworld gang was using him," Knuckleduster admitted.

While the gang is not given a specific name, fans were quick to wonder whether it was Shie Hassaikai. The group, which is known as the Eight Precepts of Death, is a branch of the Yakuza. The Japanese mafia took a hit in My Hero Academia after Pro Heroes came into power, but a man named Chisaki hoped to change that. By pushing drugs, the Eight Precepts kept money flowing while the leader manufactured his own Quirk-Killing compound through human experimentation. Now, fans can't help but wonder if the gang is tied to the Quirk Enhancing drug they have seen put into play recently. So, readers will want to pay close attention to any of the dealers Knuckleduster goes beating up in his on-going arc.

So, do you think there is a connection here or...? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has super powers, even though he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he's eventually scouted by the world's best hero All Might and enrolls in a school for professional heroes. The series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015.