Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga Chapter 078

"Breasts" (胸) is the 78th chapter of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga series, released on June 27, 2015.

Misaka Mikoto and Kinuhata Saiai almost have a fight over the "Bust Upper" card, but then decide to cooperate in order to find out which card it actually is.

Synopsis
Mikoto and Saiai both want the Bust Upper card all for themselves. A short flashback reveals Saiai's reason: she has the smallest chest out of the member of ITEM, and Shiage seemingly mocked her about this by bringing Musashino Milk (saying it would help her grow). As the girls pull the card, all courtesy drops and they almost attempt to fight each other. The Indian Poker Trader interrupts, warning them to avoid removing the card's film as this will make it activate and become useless. Startled, the girls drop the card and the trader accidentally falls to the ground, scattering all of the cards. As they can no longer tell the difference between the cards, Mikoto solves this by buying all of the cards. Saiai tells Mikoto that she will pay for half of it. Finally, the girls come to an agreement.

In an internet lounge, they realize their folly as they see that they need only to share the information of the Bust Upper. They begin testing the cards to find out which one is the Bust Upper. Mikoto ends up in a dream where she is a kunoichi (specifically, she takes the place of Kuruwa) and being trained by Hattori Hanzou, though she's pretty bad at it.

Major Events

 * Hamazura Shiage is already working for ITEM.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Indian Poker Trader
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Kinuhata Saiai
 * Mugino Shizuri
 * Takitsubo Rikou
 * Frenda Seivelun
 * Sisters (fantasy)

New Characters

 * Fremea Seivelun (referenced-only)
 * Hamazura Shiage
 * Kuruwa (absent in the tankōbon release)
 * Hattori Hanzou (absent in the tankōbon release)

Abilities

 * Meltdowner - Mugino Shizuri, Level 5 (referenced)
 * Offense Armor - Kinuhata Saiai, Level 4.
 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5.

Locations

 * Academy City

New Locations

 * Internet Lounge

Trivia

 * The clothes worn by Mikoto in her Indian Poker dream is similar to the one worn by Kuruwa.
 * This chapter marks the debut of Musashino milk and several Strange Juices in the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga. Sweet Banana Tea, Blackbean Cider, Pomegranate Cola, and Guarana Green Juice appear in this chapter.
 * The last part of the chapter involving Mikoto's dream is absent in the tankōbon release. According to Ogino Kentarou, Railgun editor, it was cut at the request of Railgun mangaka Fuyukawa Motoi.

Referbacks
There are no referbacks to previous chapters or other media in this chapter.

Cultural References

 * Mikoto complaining on how the ninja training is supposed to summon frogs and clone themselves is a likely reference to the popular Naruto franchise.

Unanswered Questions

 * If the dream is really that of Kuruwa's why would she turn it into an Indian Poker card?

Quotes

 * Mikoto: "Let go of the card already you damn midget." -- to Saiai.
 * Saiai: "Enough nonsense, you super washboard." -- to Mikoto in response to the above.
 * Mikoto: "I thought ninja techniques involved summoning giant frogs... and making clones of yourself." -- to Hanzou.