Ep. 16: Imaizumi and Naruko rely on Onoda to challenge Teshima in a critical climb.

16

Imaizumi and Naruko attempt to bypass Teshima, but he conserves his leg strength to block their advances and catch them when they try to escape. With no other options remaining, they place their hopes on Onoda, who challenges Teshima directly. Teshima exerts most of his strength to stay even with Onoda, revealing that he has carefully timed Onoda’s fastest climb to anticipate when he will slow down. Onoda must endure more than ever before to pass Teshima. If he fails, all the first years’ leg strength will be exhausted, leaving all three of them out of the Inter-high. The outcome depends on whether Onoda can prevail and prove that Teshima’s predictions cannot account for personal growth.