Passing the Crown

Hakone's sprinters continue to fall further behind and people wonder if Hakone is falling apart. Midosuji senses weakness within Hakone and announces his team will skip phases 11 and 12 of their Day 2 plan on go straight to phase 13 as they accelerate to the finish line. Phase 13 abandons the sprinters who can't accelerate up the mountain, which results in Ihara and Yamaguchi being left behind by Kyoto Fushimi. Fukutomi decides to pursue them for Hakone with Toudou. Ihara and Yamaguchi collapse and then withdraw from the race. Izumida begins thinking either him, Hayato, or Arakita will be next as they are all hanging their heads down. Up at the front Midosuji declares Fukutomi is exactly like him. Midosuji easily takes the mountain check point thanks to the 4-on-2 advantage, and Midosuji declares this is the moment the crown passes from Hakone. Ishigaki begins to think about the team he wanted to form and how Midosuji destroyed his vision, causing him to slow down until Midosuji threatens to leave him behind. When Ishigaki admits he was reminiscing, Midosuji declares it is only by abandoning everything that victory can arise for him and the team. Eventually Ichigaki confronts Fukutomi on why he abandoned his teammates, and Fukutomi declares he didn't abandon them. With 8 kilometers left, Ishigaki realizes someone is catching them from behind. Fukutomi declares that their team has no dead weight and that his teammates will come.