Well, Deku saved Eri and defeated Overhaul but Sir Nighteye’s predicted death came true. Nighteye theorized Deku was the focal point of the hope/will to succeed from everyone, allowing him to reject his awful future.
I don’t agree.
Well, I don’t WANT to agree. It’s a bit cheezy. The whole friendship=energy (power) trope is standard in shounen, but I want a more realistic answer. So, I’ll say yes, it was the power of friendship, BUT it wasn’t some best friend spirit bomb, it was Eri. Eri was the trigger, she saved the day. The moment Eri decided to fight for her freedom (thanks to Mirio’s encouragement) changed HER future. If that’s true, Deku was only a tool Eri used to change that future. Luckily, Deku benefited from her actions as a result.
What does this all mean?
Deku doesn’t have the power to change the future on his own.
For Toshinori to survive, it will take more than his protege. But, who is powerful enough to help Deku? No clue. Either Deku will have to become powerful enough to change fate or his allies will all have to band together to save the former number one hero. And we’re talking Eri’s uber quirk levels of power, yikes! All hands on board to survive that storm.
So, we have the ticking time clock of Toshinori’s approaching death, and a possible way to avoid it. How does it play out? If changing the future boils down to choices, could All Might choose to die? If his last feat of heroism is sacrificing his life, no one can stop it. And from a meta perspective, there isn’t much left for Toshinori to do. Telling Deku how he inherited One For All and his relationship with Nana Shimura, including her connection with Shigaraki, via flashback is pretty much all that’s left. And even most of that can be explained by Gran Torino.
Deku is getting a personal tragedy eventually. Toshinori, Inko Midoriya, Gran Torino, someone close to him will die. In my opinion, it’s gonna be Toshinori, but I won’t count Gran Torino out either. Hirokoshi loves Star Wars and if old man Gran T. is the Yoda of the series, Toshinori is the Obi-Wan Kenobi. Hmm… All I can say is a mentor surviving a shounen series to the end is rare. Two surviving? Not happening. Plus, we can’t forget Toshinori, the symbol of good, has to die for the Villain Alliance to truly change the world.
My money is on Toshinori willingly dying to protect Deku and/or the world. Shigarki will do the deed or be indirectly responsible, cementing Deku VS Shigariki’s rivalry equaling that of All Might VS All For One. Toshinori’s clock is indeed ticking down folks. And just like losing his powers, he’s going out like a hero.
Mammoth Base Opera Castle 