Naruko refuses to give up the lead as Sohoku races up the mountain. He uses his sprinters climb to help the team gain momentum, and just as he appears to be tired Naruko decides to debut his new move: the Armstrong Climb. Naruko's spirit ignites to crowd to cheer for Sohoku, but it has some unexpected consequences. The climb slowly but surely drains Naruko's oxygen levels. Naruko refuses to give up the lead and focuses solely on the road, where he can see the white line, but he can't see anything else. Onoda decides to help but giving Naruko directions on the turns. As Sohoku catches up to Hakone Naruko slowly but surely drops back, and in the end he crashes to the side of the road unable to continue on. The last things heard are Onoda's and Imaizumi's screams for their fallen friend, but the two decide to honor what he has done and help take down Hakone.