Warning: contains spoilers for My Hero Academia chapter 342!
The new chapter of My Hero Academia returns after hiatus for one last breather before the final arc begins, but that doesn't mean that everyone's getting to relax - especially Class 1-A's homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa (Eraserhead), who's once again face to face with the darkest moment of his past.
In previous chapters of My Hero Academia, it was revealed that the teleporting Nomu known as Kurogiri (whose name means "Black Fog") was created out of the corpse of Oboro Shirakumo (whose last name means "White Cloud," hinting at the connection). Shirakumo was a UA student and school friend of Aizawa and Present Mic, eager to prove himself as a hero, who was killed by a villain in the line of duty while out on his hero work study program. Worse still, Aizawa witnessed the incident with his own eyes, leading to the hardened, no-nonsense man his students know today.
While much of this backstory was only alluded to in the main series manga via several single-panel flashbacks, the full details of the incident were included in the spin-off series My Hero Academia Vigilantes, making chapters 59 to 65 of that series must-reads for fans of his character. Shirakumo's death was Aizawa's greatest failure, and when Kurogiri was arrested, the truth of his origins came out, twisting the knife further. However, Aizawa's visit to Kurogiri did seemingly awaken some remnant of Shirakumo, offering a spark of hope that his friend may still exist in some form. As the heroes prepare to enact their counterattack plan in chapter 342, Aizawa is once again shown across from Kurogiri, hoping to get through to him.
Aizawa has been understandably absent from the story for a while, as he suffered major injuries during the Paranormal Liberation War, including a lost leg and a lost eye which severely impacted the usability of his quirk. No matter what the attack plan is, Aizawa isn't in any shape to take to the front lines, leaving him with just one avenue through which he can offer help: flipping Kurogiri to the good guys. It's been said that the Nomu Kurogiri's teleportation quirk is exceptionally rare, so gaining access to that alone would radically shift the balance of power in the heroes' favor. Then there's the more conventional interrogation details that Kurogiri would have to offer as well, since he's intimately familiar with All For One's behaviors as well as their hideouts. Gaining Kurogiri's cooperation seems key to success, so there's a lot riding on Aizawa's shoulders.
Fortunately, Kurogiri does have one known weakness to exploit: he legitimately cares for Tomura Shigaraki, and has no knowledge of the painful transformations that have taken place since his arrest. If there's a way to get him to help save Shigaraki, it may well be possible to flip the otherwise silent villain. Aside from their personal history, Aizawa's role as a teacher offers another bridge of connection between the two, as both understand the burden of caring for children. Even as badly injured as he is, Shota Aizawa's most impactful moment likely lies ahead in My Hero Academia.