The national championship has begun. Mizusawa High School's first opponent is a tam of foreigners from the Chiba International School of Information Studies. Chihaya is elated that karuta has become an international sport, but the other members are thrown off by the unfamiliar situation. Will Mizusawa High School be able to secure their first victory on their way to becoming number one in Japan? At the same time, Arata arrives at Omi Jingu alone.

The Mizusawa karuta club has won the team championship, becoming the number one team in Japan. The players reflect upon the path they took to the championship. After Chihaya remembers the pain in her finger, she is taken to the hospital.

Chihaya has injured her right hand, so she's forced to play with her left. Her first opponent is Yuube, from Akashi First Girls. Chihaya struggles to take cards with her left hand. Will she be able to make it past the first round?

The Class A Finals pit Arata vs Shinobu, Class B is between Taichi and Rion in the same area where Komano is participating in the Class C Final. Chihaya is stuck between supporting Taichi and Komano or experiencing the match between Arata and Shinobu.

Chihaya, Taichi, Tsuboguchi, and Dr. Harada, all members of the Shiranami Society, have made it to the top 8. They approach the next round with the mindset of playing in a team match, but Chihaya is matched against Inokuma Haruka, the former Queen who won the title four times in a row. Inokuma's unique play style is like nothing Chihaya has seen before, causing her to struggle in their match.

Inokuma, who won the Queen title four times in a row; Sudo, who can throw an opponent off with his words alone; Murao, the fourth seat in the Nagumo Society; and Arata, who ended the Queen's undefeated record. The Shiranami Society members are faced with four powerful opponents, but Harada's insistence brings the other three back to the mindset of playing offensive karuta. How these four matches will end is anyone's guess!

The audience at the Yoshino Tournament is taken for a wild ride with so many unexpected twists: Arata, the focus of high expectations, has been defeated, and Taichi, who only just reached Class A, advances to the finals. And now it's time at last for the final round between Chihaya and Taichi, teammates who have been practicing together since they were in elementary school. The odds are in Chihaya's favor, but Taichi isn't playing his usual karuta since he declared that he would defeat her in an official match.

Taichi has nothing but Chihaya on his mind as he constantly updates his strategy during their match. Chihaya has a bit of trouble since Taichi isn't playing like he usually does, but this just might be the best match they've ever played against each other. As the final round nears its end, Chihaya's desire to be the Queen battles against her dreams for the future as she's forced to choose between the Queen tournament qualifiers and her class trip.

Both the Master and Queen matches come down to luck of the draw in an intense first round, ending in wins for Shinobu and Harada. Shinobu is shaken after learning that her grandmother, a politician, sees her as no more than a walking advertisement, as well as the fact that Chihaya chose her class trip over a chance to play in the Queen match, and she begins to break down in the second round.