Looking at the next page, the story takes an unexpected turn.
Fujiwara Takumi's father, Bunta, is shown chatting casually with the gas station manager, Yuichi.
When Yuichi remarks that the tofu delivery AE86 is still as fast as ever, Bunta drops a bombshell.
"It hasn't been me driving that car for years. My son, Takumi, took over five years ago."
Didn't Takumi just get his license last month?
Reinais just as stunned as Yuichi in the manga. Takumi... had been driving since his first year of high school? Without a license?
She remembers the earlier glimpse of the AE86—the one that left such an impression—and Yuichi's comment about the fastest racer on Mount Akina still appearing every morning.
Takumi Fujiwara isn't some beginner. He's the AE86 driver. The legend of Akina.
A surge of excitement rushes through her, reigniting the interest that had faded when the plot drifted from Takumi.
She rewinds the earlier scenes in her mind. That moment when Takumi sat in Iketani's car and called it terrifying—she'd thought it was his first time riding with a skilled driver. But now? It's obvious. He was terrified because Iketani's driving was terrible by comparison.
Now this is getting good.
That twist alone had her hooked. Just one chapter in, and Initial D had completely grabbed her. She was definitely buying the next issue of Shroud Line.
But the chapter wasn't over yet.
Right after Bunta and Yuichi's conversation, the scene cuts back to Mount Akina. It's dawn, and Takahashi Keisuke of the Akagi Redsuns is about to leave.
[TL: Play "Deja Vu" by Dave Rodgers (Initial D classic). Skip to 0:20 for peak effect.—highly recommended.]
He pulls away fast, leaving his teammates far behind.
"Still too green to keep up," he mutters.
Then, headlights flare in his rearview mirror—sharp and cool in the pale morning light.
Two beams slice through the mountain mist like a predator's gaze, locked onto Keisuke's white FC.
At first, Keisuke thinks it's one of his teammates. But as the car gains, he sees it clearly: a beat-up AE86.
In the manga, Keisuke's expression twists in disbelief. An 86? Catching up to him? That's an insult.
But for Reina—and readers everywhere—the tension spikes.
The two cars begin tearing down Akina's winding descent. On the straightaways, the FC pulls ahead. But every time the road curves, the AE86 reels it right back in.
It never passes. But it never lets go.
The contrast is stunning—especially after Keisuke's teammate couldn't even keep up with him. Yet now, this old 86 clings to him like a shadow.
Corner after corner, the manga's panels depict the cars drifting with insane precision. Keisuke's confidence starts to crack. He can't shake the car behind him.
This is what racing really looks like?
Even with no background in motorsports, the message is clear: if this scrappy AE86 can match an FC, its driver must be something else entirely.
Then comes the climax.
Keisuke brakes early before a sharp turn—any later and he'd fly off the edge. The drop beyond the guardrail is sheer.
But the AE86 doesn't slow down.
Reina tenses. She drives too—she knows what happens if you go into a turn like that without braking.
But in the manga, the AE86 slides out, tail-first, drifting smoothly through the corner. It rides the edge of the guardrail, Fujiwara Tofu Shop glinting on its side.
Somewhere down the line, even Ryosuke Takahashi—the Red Suns' ace—would call it textbook inertia drift.
Haruki had spent hours drawing that panel, trying to capture the raw edge of danger and grace.
Reina held her breath. It was too cool.
She hurried to flip the page—and instead found herself staring at a new chapter of Natsume's Book of Friends.
The high of that final scene vanished like steam on asphalt.
She groaned aloud. It was just like following Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance again. Mizushiro's cliffhangers were cruel. Part of her wanted to barge into his studio and make him draw the on the spot.
How could anyone just stop there?
Right when it gets good—bam. End of chapter. And now she had to wait a whole week?
With a frustrated sigh, she flipped back and reread the chapter. Then again. And again. Each time, she caught new details she'd missed before.
Hints everywhere—quiet, clever foreshadowing of Takumi's skills from the very beginning.
Finally, she closed the magazine.
Whatever direction Mizushiro's stories were heading, this new series was hands-down the most thrilling thing she'd read all year.
She couldn't wait. Opening her laptop, she jumped online to check fan reactions to the debut of Initial D.
The forums were already exploding.
Readers who had picked up the latest Shroud Line were flooding social media.
"Wait, this is a racing manga? Didn't expect that. Didn't expect it to be this good either. But seriously, that cliffhanger? Mizushiro, you're a menace."
"Guys, the AE86 that caught up to Keisuke? It's Takumi behind the wheel!"
"Seriously? The manga spells it out. Takumi's been delivering tofu since high school. That 86 on Mount Akina at dawn? It's the same car. Look at the last panel—the tofu shop's name is right there."
"Okay, but how does an 86 even keep up with an FC?"
"Massive difference in power. It's like beating a sports car in a drag race with a shopping cart. Only way it works is if the driver's a god."
"Mizushiro's has perfected the evil cliffhanger. Pure suffering."
"Get used to it. Remembrance fans still remember the Tomoe arc cliffhanger. This is nothing."
"The second that 86 showed up behind the FC, I was sold. If the rest of the manga keeps this energy, I'm in for the long haul."
Shout out to Sylphid, SA, liam denic for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.
[TL:-How was the chapter?
And what did you think of the music cue—did "Deja Vu" hit at the right moment?]
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 50+ advanced chapters)