Volume 7 (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

A Man's Battle is the seventh release of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's manga for Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Overview
After Toji's death, Shinji vows never to pilot an Evangelion again, leaving NERV. As Shinji leaves, a new Angel attacks the city, but Units-00 and 02 are damaged, while Unit-01 rejects all the pilots NERV gives it. Before leaving the city, Kaji convinces Shinji to return to NERV to compensate Toji's death. Shinji goes to fight the Angel with Unit-01, but he is easily overpowered. In the fight, Unit-01's armor is broken, giving the Evangelion its independence, as the armor was only meant to keep Unit-01 under control. Unit-01 then attacks the Angel, and ends up eating it. As Unit-01 goes berserk, NERV freezes it, but they discover that Shinji has been ingested by Unit-01.

Stage 41: Fist
Shinji, horrified and emotionally devastated by the battle between Unit-01 and Bardiel and witnessing Toji's death, as well as Gendo's cold indifference to the situation, quits NERV for a second time. Before going to see Gendo, Shinji dreams about Hikari asking him about Toji, and wakes up in horror. Ritsuko and Misato contemplate the shredded corpse of Evangelion Unit-03, and Asuka and Rei in the hospital. Kaji goes to bring Shinji to Gendo's office and when there Gendo counts the crimes that Shinji has done, and while infurated, Shinji tries to punch Gendo but Kaji stops him, and then Shinji decided to quit NERV premenantely. Gendo then orders to delete everything about Shinji and replace him with the Dummy plug for piloting Unit-01. Before he goes to the train, Misato tries to console him, but to no effort and he says farewell.

Stage 42: Ashen Skies
Shinji's words to Misato before leaving made her remember her father's last words to her before his death during Second Impact. Shinji walks with gloom on his face and to the train station, when he heard the emergency declared on Tokyo-3: A new Angel has arrived.

NERV started its attack with the conventional weapons which has not done any minor damage, and the Angel fires an energy beam, too powerful that it destroyed 18 of the armor plates. This situation has given NERV very short time to prepare, and Misato orders to dispatch Unit-02 in the GeoFront to encounter it. Gendo orders to send Rei in Unit-01, due to Unit-00's arm has not regenerated yet, with the Dummy Plug for backup. Shinji stands watching Zeruel's energy beams, and remembers his decision. Kaji got Shinji to a hidden supplies cellar to talk with him about the post-Second Impact issues.

Stage 43: Cross-Examination
Rei goes in Unit-01, but it rejects her, and Gendo thinks that it is trying to reject him. Gendo orders to send Rei in Unit-00 and prepare Unit-01 with the Dummy Plug. Despite this surprising order, Rei accepts going in Unit-00, saying that she can be replaced. The Angel's blast has now penetrated the last armor plates of the GeoFront, and Asuka is prepared to intercept it. Meanwhile, Kaji takes Shinji to a hidden cellar to tell him why does he spy on NERV, and begin telling him about the aftermath of the Second Impact.

The poverty has taken over the countries and there wasn't enough food, so Kaji and his younger brother and other five has escaped to get the food. And one night, their group decided to sneak to a military warehouse, and it was Kaji who was sent to get the food. He was captured by the soldiers, and they threatened him if he doesn't tell about his friends' whereabouts. He told them in fear of death, and when he escaped of them, he found his brother and friends dead.

Stage 44: Atonement
Asuka is still fighting against Zeruel, but her weapons weren't any good due to the Angel's powerful A.T. Field. Meanwhile, Kaji continues his story to Shinji, and how he met Misato, and about her past because she was the only survival of the Katsuragi Expedition, and she saw the whole and that they do not deserve happiness, neither Shinji as well. Back to the GeoFront, where Zeruel counter-attacked Asuka with its foil-like arms, which sliced Unit-02's arms. Asuka charges at the Angel with the armless Unit-02, and the Angel cuts its head. And back again in the hidden cellar, Kaji tells Shinji that he is like him and Misato, because he survived at the cost of Toji's death, and motivates Shinji to return to NERV. NERV tries to activate Unit-01 with the Dummy Plug, but it refused as well.

Stage 45: A Man's Battle
Evangelion Unit-01 has rejected both Rei and the Dummy Plug, while Zeruel continues to break through the GeoFront, and exposed the Main Shaft. Rei charges at the Angel with the one-armed Unit-00 with an N² bomb. Despite getting the bomb through Zeruel's A.T. Field, but the Angel has protected its Core with membrane, leading to Unit-00 to lose its another arm, and Zeruel disabling it by stabbing its head. Unit-01 us still rejecting the Dummy Plug, and the screens around Gendo show him Shinji's picture and he asks Yui if that is what she wants. Shinji returns and asks him father to let him pilot Unit-01, and Zeruel has started descending to Central Dogma. Zeruel was about to wipe out the Command Center, until Shinji came in Unit-01 and stopped it.

Stage 46: The Awakening: Part One
Shinji in Unit-01 has stopped Zeruel from destroying the Command Center at the last moment, but Unit-01 has lost its left arm while fighting inside. Unit-01 pushed the Angel to the dispatching hangar, and returns the fight to the GeoFront. Shinji notices the incapacitated Units-00 and 02, and gets even more infuriated, and tries to remove its head, but the Evangelion reached its activation limit. The Angel grabs the Eva from the head and throws it at side of mountain, and blasts its armor, revealing the Eva's Core. The Angel then proceeds to attack the Core with its foil-arms, cracking the Entry Plug's wall. Shinji begs the Eva to move, and the Eva moved and stopped the Angel's attack by ripping one of its arms, and kicked it away. The Eva used the Angel's arm to regenerate its own. The Synchro ratio has reached over 400%, and the Eva has gone berserk.

Stage 47: The Awakening: Part Two
Zeruel attacked Unit-01 with its remaining arm, but the Eva countered with its offensive A.T Field, ripping the Angel's arm, shattering the Angel's A.T. Field and knocking it down. When the Angel was about to shoot, the Eva has landed its fatal blow on the Angel, and started to eat it, absorbing the S² Engine. Due to it being fully awakened, the Eva got freed from the restrains that was believed to be armor, and Gendo says that this is the beginning of his plan.

Stage 48: Eradication
The damage done by the Angel Zeruel to the Evangelion Units 00 and 02, the GeoFront, and the Command Center was very massive, and the command will be moved to the second center. Meanwhile at the cage, Unit-01 has been captured using the Anti-Angel intercept system, although restraining the Evangelions might be its real purpose. Going to SEELE, they were discussing the case of Unit-01, and that the S² Engine shouldn't have been manifested in the Eva series, and it was Gendo's fault of that event. Kaji talks with Gendo and Fuyutsuki, and Gendo decided to keep Unit-01 shut down, although Shinji was ingested by the Eva. Ritsuko tells Misato about Shinji's case after seeing the Entry Plug empty, and Misato asks her about the Evangelion's truth. She tells Misato that what happened to Shinji might be due to the Eva's wish and Misato slapped her, saying that saving Shinji is her duty. Meanwhile, Rei wakes up in the hospital, and feels nervous about Shinji. Asuka is frustrated because of her loss to Shinji, and how she hates that. Ritsuko devises a plan to reconstruct Shinji's body and attach his soul in it. Back to SEELE, Keel Lorenz and the other SEELE members decide to reveal their trump card, Tabris to retrieve NERV from Gendo. Inside Unit-01's Entry Plug, Shinji wakes up and wonders where he is.