The following content contains spoilers from My Hero Academia, Season 6, episode 21, currently streaming on Crunchyroll. If Hawks is to be believed, Deku doesn't stand a chance against Lady Nagant's incredible skills, but is that going to stop this stubborn young Hero from participating in the combat? Why certainly not! Instead of heading Hawks' warning, Deku heads directly into battle against Japan's top marksman and former Pro-Hero, becoming the first person to evade more than one of Nagant's bullets.
Izuku's perceptive intelligence more than makes up for his lack of experience, as this Hero-in-training gives Nagant the run around in Season 6, episode 21 while Overhaul conspicuously hovers on the sidelines.
Deku's Adaptive Quirks and Strategies
To avoid Nagant's barrage of bullets, Deku quickly adopts unpredictable zigzag motions, relying on his advanced speed to dominate and Danger Sense, which saves his skin more than once. However, he figures out that Nagant is (also) trying to close the gap between them, as the shorter distance allows for her natural instincts to shine through, as opposed to having to predict her target's erratic path. The first bullet to hit slows Deku down enough for Nagant to catch up and, because Danger Sense is not capable of working in quick succession, she begins to strike her target more frequently.
Deku unleashes his Smokescreen to counter her strategy but is a bit heavy-handed according to En, who warns of the consequences of overusing his Quirk. Visibility goes two ways, and while the smoke conveniently provides cover, it also blocks Nagant from Deku's line of sight and basically traps him within the billows, like a sitting duck. However, Deku is just trying to bide enough time to store up some energy with Fa Jin, before tricking Nagant into revealing her location with a few well-placed decoys. The battle becomes air-bound as Deku shoots up through a building in Nagant's blind spot, and, after losing control of the situation all over again, he essentially follows the trajectory of Nagant's bullets with Blackwhip to pinpoint her location once again.
Deku's New Skillset
Instead of trying to overload his system by using all the Quirks at his disposal, Deku has learned to become more selective about his combos and rearranges his power usage accordingly. At the beginning of the battle, Deku overburdens himself with One For All 45%, Danger Sense, Smokescreen, Blackwhip, Float, and Fa Jin, but decides to drop a few powers to focus his energy more effectively. Fa Jin assumedly needs a great deal of concentration to utilize this early on in the game (ie: his first attempt!) not to mention the scientific components that must be considered; minimizing the Quirk count reduces his chance of error. Even One For All's Third User is in awe of how efficiently Deku has adapted to the circumstances.
Having never used Fa Jin before, Deku's intellect shines through as he ensures to bend and stretch his legs while evading Nagant's bullets, in order to build up his kinetic energy reserves in each leg. Using One For All at 45%, a boost from Fa Jin's power from one leg only, in addition to the centrifugal force of his momentum from swinging around with Blackwhip, Deku speeds past Nagant's missile with a new move called Faux 100 Percent and tackles Chisaki to safety. With the other leg's reserves, he promptly makes a bee-line for the stunned Nagant with another new attack called Faux 100 Percent: Manchester Smash, breaking her gun's barrel en route.
Lady Nagant's True Intentions
Lady Nagant has more than one super-powered weapon in her arsenal as her Rifle transformation surprisingly has multiple settings. Although Nagant seems to favor her long-ranged sniper rifle, she can fire point-blank shots straight from her elbow or supersize her firearm to add more power to her punches. Furthermore, Nagant can also embed speakers into her bullets to communicate with (and taunt) her victims, or create specialized ammunition that can maneuver around curves, with an almost endless supply (so long as her hair can keep up with production.)
All these abilities would be wasted if Lady Nagant wasn't such a skilled marksman, as her Quirk only gives her the tools, not the talents to wield them. It is safe to say that Nagant isn't used to missing a mark, and while Deku's speed and Danger Sense make him a slippery target, it is evident that Nagant isn't trying to cause too much damage. Shooting a kid repeatedly may seem rather brutal and cold-hearted; however, as Deku points out, she is likely "missing" on purpose (and not just to spare his life to comply with All For One's orders.) The first shot fired in Season 6, episode 20 could have easily incapacitated the boy (without killing him, of course); however, she chose to give Deku an opening instead.
Even though Lady Nagant has taken All For One's side, she is clearly not keen to shed more blood and seems almost concerned that Deku has been subjected to the same narrowminded Hero brainwashing that she experienced. She is well aware that All For One is not a morally sound leader; however, his consistent ideologies align with freedom and transparency, which is more than she can say about the Hero Society's deception. Her “better the devil you know” mentality surprisingly makes sense to Deku, who has had to deal with the blunt truth that not all Heroes are as admirable as first appearances dictate, while the same can be said for villains, vigilantes, and even innocent civilians.
Chisaki and Counterproductively
Why Lady Nagant has bothered with Chisaki is a mystery; her excuse for bringing Overhaul along on her Deku-kidnapping-expedition is so that he could "confirm the target." However, the former Hero knows how valuable an "innocent" bystander can be during battle, and likely included him in the mission for precisely that reason. She shows no compassion for Chisaki's hopeless desperation to see his "father" again, and yet still ensures that he is well clothed and urges him to stay out of harm's way once the battle begins.
Interestingly enough, Deku mentions that he "doesn't feel any hostility or murderous intent nearby," which could be interpreted a few different ways. Either Deku's senses are slightly off amidst all the chaos, Overhaul is simply out of range, or the tyrant's will to fight has been completely destroyed, and his only desire truly is to see "Pops" again. Despite all the terrible things he has done in the past, condemning the Old Man to a coma appears to be his biggest regret, especially since a "Quirkless " Overhaul can't bring the Boss back again.
Unfortunately, Deku seems to have put his foot in it by bringing Eri into the conversation, as Chisaki had apparently forgotten all about her (and her oh-so-useful Quirk.) The Shigaraki-Tartarus combo really took its toll on Overhaul, but now, thanks to Deku, this formidable foe has newfound hope; if he finds Eri, she can reverse time and essentially reattach Chisaki's hands, subsequently enabling his destructive Quirk and returning him to glory.
Spilling All For One's Secrets
The battle might've panned out differently if Overhaul wasn't there to distract Deku, although the fact that Lady Nagant's "attempted murder" was all a ruse is evidence enough of her heroic heart. Deku notices that Lady Nagant's bullet would not have fatally wounded Chisaki, and uses this fact to get Lady Nagant to open up to him. Unfortunately, All For One took precautionary measures for if his minion decided to turn Hero once again and assumedly uses his Forced Quirk Activation to cause Nagant to self-destruct. Incidentally, he didn't seem to think of Overhaul as much of a threat (or an asset, either.)
Before losing consciousness, Nagant reveals a crucial component of All For One's master plan and confirms that she is not the only hired gun with Deku in her targets. The young Hero will have two months to prepare before meeting All For One face-to-face, and likely Shigaraki too, in the Haibori Woods (so long as he survives the impending attacks in the meantime!) Luckily Hawks is also privy to this information, as Deku will probably try to sneak off and face the enemy alone, without involving the Pro Heroes for backup. Although knowing Deku, he will still attempt a solo mission, regardless.