Yokozuna hopeful Hakuho kept his eyes firmly on the prize as the Mongolian ozeki posted a bread-and-butter fourth win against Kakizoe at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday.
Hakuho came out with all guns blazing and wasted no time in dispatching third-ranked maegashira Kakizoe with a series of powerful shoves to preserve his perfect start to the 15-day meet at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Asashoryu, the lone grand champion and a fellow Mongolian, also retained his share of the lead at 4-0 with a routine win over Tokitenku but Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu became the first ozeki to bite the dust with an upset loss to Tamanoshima.