Love and Denial

It's time for Takagi and Miyoshi's wedding. Mashiro is still unsure if Tanto fits their style and ends up arguing with Hattori, who refuses to give his opinion about their manga. In the end Mashiro gets Hattori to admit he thinks their manga isn't good but he also tells him he still thinks they can beat Niizuma. When Niizuma declares on tv that Ashirogi Muto is his number one rival, Mashiro has a break down. He runs home and calls Azuki, saying he wants to quit Tanto because he wants to aim higher, because he wants to compete with Niizuma. Mashiro talks about it with Takagi and they decide to quit Tanto. The chief editor tells them to quit the company if they behave like this but Mashiro states his wish to beat Niizuma but that he's unable to do so with Tanto. The chief asks Takagi if he thinks they can beat Niizuma with a different work, so Takagi declares they'll submit something to the following 3 serialization meetings that can compete with Niizuma's work. If they fail to do so, their contract will be terminated.