Yokozuna Kakuryu rebounded from his first loss at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament with a smooth victory on Monday, while sekiwake Tochinoshin found himself granted a win following a rare second withdrawal by new ozeki Takakeisho.
The two upper-ranked fighters remain tied for the lead with No. 8 maegashira Asanoyama as all three wrestlers secured winning records on Day 9 at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
In the final bout of the day, Kakuryu squared off against No. 4 Okinoumi (2-7) and didn't expect much of a challenge, having amassed a 70 percent win ratio against his challenger.