Ep. 4: Young Mustang encounters cruelty at boot camp and forms a bond with Hughes and Heathcliffe.

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Eighteen-year-old Mustang attends military boot camp, where he observes seniors bullying an Ishvalan recruit named Heathcliffe Erbe. He becomes interested in Hughes, who is associated with the bullies, and the two develop a rivalry through various competitions. After Mustang confronts the seniors again, Hughes supports him, leading the three to become friends and share their motivations for joining the military. During the Ishvalan war, Mustang faces Heathcliffe in combat, resulting in Heathcliffe’s death at Hughes’s hands after he shoots at Mustang. Devastated by the violence, Mustang falls into despair until Hughes appears, suppressing his own guilt to maintain a brave front for his wife. Witnessing Hughes’s reunion with his spouse, Mustang admires his friend’s resilience and emotional strength.