Did My Hero Academia Just Set Up Izuku Midoriya's Ultimate Sacrifice?

My Hero Academia's all-out war between heroes and villains has set up some big stakes for the series, as the chaotic conflict has proven to have many players vying for power. While the League of Villains and their new army are trying to dismantle superhero society, the heroes have been focused on one main goal in the current "Raid Arc": shutting down the threat of Tomura Shigaraki! The battle with the power-boosted "Plus Ultra Shigaraki" has forced Izuku Midoriya to rapidly push past the limits of his own One For All power. With the final battle between Deku and Shigaraki now underway, My Hero Academia's main character may be making the ultimate sacrifice!

Warning: My Hero Academia Manga Chapter 284 SPOILERS Follow!

The latest My Hero Academia manga picks up with Izuku having manifested all sorts of new One For All powers to keep himself and his hero comrades alive. Aizawa was crippled and nearly killed by Shigaraki, which forced the heroes to stop relying on his eraser quirk to hold Shigaraki at bay. While the villain leader is recovering his powers and healing his enhanced body, Deku taps into both the "Blackwhip" and "Float" quirks of One For All's past users, Daigoro Banjo and Nana Shimura (respectively). With those new powers working in combination, Izuku can snare and levitate his teammates, so that they can escape Shigaraki's horrific new enhanced disintegration powers.

Deku's big save is only temporary, though: Shigaraki gets his bearings and is ready to murder his rival and the heroes and collect Midoriya's One For All power as his ultimate prize. Izuku holds his own by going straight at Shigaraki with his One For All powers and damaging his foe. But as Deku reveals in his inner monologue, his suddenly boosted One For All power is coming at a cost:

"The last two 100 percent attacks wrecked my left arm! Shigaraki now possesses All For One, and One For All is a power passed down for the sole purpose of beating All For One! He Has to go down here! Now's the moment to let it all out! Everything that one for all has to offer! No matter what happens to me!!"

The chapter ends with Izuku taking using Blackwhip to ensnare Shigaraki, before pouring all his power into one grand-slam attack. Knowing how much of a toll One For All takes on Deku's body, the outcome of this attack doesn't look good. Would My Hero Academia kill off Deku at this point? Fans have been speculating it could happen since this war began. More to the point: this chapter of My Hero Academia also has a curious subplot, which may be setting the stage for Bakugo to be One For All's next inheritor, should Deku fall.

My Hero Academia is in production on season 5 of the anime. Online chapters of the manga can be found HERE.