It has been a week since Saki joined the mahjong club, though Nodoka is still distant to her. Nodoka plays a game by herself with all the tiles exposed and takes notes, but she is still unable to attain a plus/minus zero score like Saki who can do this flawlessly. Hisa and Mako go and sign up their club for the national qualifiers for high school students. Saki wins a game against Nodoka, Kyōtarō, and Yūki, who is depressed that she cannot possibly win when playing against both Saki and Nodoka. In the next game, Saki lets Yūki win, which makes Nodoka angry since while Saki did it so that everyone can have fun, Nodoka can only have fun when Saki is playing at her best. Saki makes a promise with Nodoka to shoot for the nationals, and the two finally become friends.
Nodoka n'est pas à l'aise lorsqu'elle joue avec Saki. Elle finit d'ailleurs par exploser ! Hisa et Mako inscrivent le club pour les matchs de qualification départementale pour le championnat national.
みんなで麻雀打っていた和は、咲の打ち回しに違和感を感じる。その疑問が確信に変わった時、和の感情がついに爆発してしまう。一方そのころ、久とまこは高校生麻雀大会・県予選の抽選会場に足を踏み入れていた。
La suma que todos estaban golpeando mahjong se siente extraña por el golpe de Saki. Cuando esa pregunta se convierte en convicción, los sentimientos de armonía finalmente explotan. Mientras tanto, en ese momento, Hisa Tomako estaba entrando en el lugar de la lotería para el torneo de mahjong de la escuela secundaria y la calificación de la prefectura.
Nodoka non riesce a digerire la scarsa voglia di vincere di Saki e le due hanno un'animata discussione. Nel frattempo Hisa e Mako iscrivono la squadra alle eliminatorie prefetturali per i campionati nazionali.