WARNING: The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia #272, by Kohei Horikoshi, Caleb Cook and John Hunt, available now from Viz Media.
Coming from the Latin for "Further Beyond," the phrase "Plus Ultra" serves as the motto of U.A. High School and a general call to action for heroes to push themselves to new heights. In the past, it's also been used as something of a way to denote a massive increase in power. However, in My Hero Academia #272, the phrase gets turned on its head when Tomura Shigaraki essentially goes Plus Ultra, resulting in the most devastating version of the villain imaginable.
The current "Paranormal Liberation War Arc" has seen My Hero Academia's heaviest hitters going at it at Jaku Hospital, which is located near an unnamed city in Japan. The battle has, for the most part, gone in favor of the heroes, who have been able to systematically take down some key members of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Mirko, Present Mic and several heroes were even able to interrupt the Daruma Ujiko's attempt to power Shigaraki up to new heights when they smashed the tank containing the villain. However, in light of Daruma revealing Shigaraki was now in possession of the original All For One Quirk, it was unclear just how powerful the Paranormal Liberation Front's leader would be when he finally awoke.
It hasn't taken long to find out, as in My Hero Academia #272, Shigaraki awakens. The first thing Shigaraki says is, "I'm cold." He then uses his Decay Quirk, which has powered up to unbelievable new heights. Gran Torino observes Shigaraki no longer even needs to touch things in order to use his ability, which spreads throughout the hospital and brings the building down, presumably killing many heroes and villains in the process. However, Shigaraki's Quirk doesn't stop at the Hospital. Instead, a wave of destruction crests towards the city, taking out a ton of buildings in the process. As this happens, Daruma says, "We witness a miracle... or something even greater, Plus Ultra... Shigaraki has awakened!" The villainous doctor then brags this new Shigaraki will destroy the heroes in his way with his enhanced abilities.
As Izuku Midoriya/Deku and his fellow heroes were working on evacuating the city, it's likely Shigaraki's first action upon waking didn't kill many civilians, though it's quite hard to tell just how far they'd gotten. Presumably, they would have started by evacuating the area closest to the hospital. Deku was also seemingly able to stop the wave with a well-placed St. Louis Smash. Still, this new Shigaraki -- who has gone further beyond what he was before -- may just be stronger than All For One ever was.
Prior to Shigaraki's attack, Deku receives a warning from the original user of One For All indicating the villain has transcended and was "freed from the shackles of humanity." This is seemingly backed up by Shigaraki's vision in My Hero Academia #272, where he chose to destroy his family and side with All For One. The choice Shigaraki made in his vision is symbolic of him destroying the last vestiges of his humanity. While All For One was also inhuman, there's no indication he ever pulled off a feat comparable to what Shigaraki does with his Decay Quirk in the latest issue of the manga. It's also worth noting that, although Shigaraki did use his Decay Quirk in a similar way when he took down the Meta Liberation Army, this version seems significantly more powerful and more readily accessible.
All that said, Shigaraki is significantly more powerful now, which could spell disaster for Japan and its heroes. The villain has previously said his goal is to essentially wreck the world and to install himself at the top in the resulting power vacuum, and he might just be able to achieve his goals now. Although Deku is still learning to master his abilities, Shigaraki has ascended to something more, unlocking a power with which the young hero might find himself unable to compete.
My Hero Academia #273 will release May 31 from Viz Media.