Ep. 7: Mikio exposes Joe's illegal status and vows to seize control of the Shirato Group from Yukiko.
Joe’s rising popularity does little to improve his chances of selection for Megalonia. Mikio defeats Sugar R. Hill and announces his intention to challenge Joe. The Shirato Group’s executive committee pressures Yukiko to include Mikio, but she opposes his advancement. Mikio confronts Yukiko, accusing her of rigging his match against Sugar and planning to pit him against Joe to eliminate him. Before the scheduled bout, Mikio meets Joe and reveals knowledge of his illegal underground fighting and fake identification, threatening public exposure if Joe enters the ring. Joe attempts to strike Mikio but is knocked unconscious by Nanbu. Joe fails to appear, resulting in a default victory for Mikio, who then declares his plan to reclaim the Shirato Group from Yukiko.
Episodes
- Ep. 3 · Nanbu enters Joe into the rankings while they secure gear and face a prototype theft incident.
- Ep. 4 · Gearless Joe defeats Shark Samejima and climbs to rank 102 before facing a mysterious past rival.
- Ep. 5 · Nanbu confronts his presumed-dead student Aragaki, who seeks revenge against Joe for his war injuries and lost gym.
- Ep. 6 · Joe fights Aragaki while Nanbu reconciles with him before Megalonia announcements
- Ep. 7 · Mikio exposes Joe's illegal status and vows to seize control of the Shirato Group from Yukiko.
- Ep. 8 · Nanbu seeks leverage on Mikio while Joe crashes the Megalonia finalist ceremony to demand a fair fight.
- Ep. 9 · Mikio fights Joe in a rematch with upgraded gear, but Joe wins via counter-punch to reach Megalonia.
- Ep. 10 · Nanbu reveals the true bet to Joe, who rejects the match-fixing order and flees.
- Ep. 11 · Joe defeats Glen Burroughs despite Nanbu's orders to throw the fight.