headed into the frozen wilderness of Antarctica to hunt for food. They soon turned to hunting for seals, penguins, and skuas for food, seeking shelter at night and during the harsh blizzards that hit the continent, and facing ongoing challenges that they never faced on their own before. 9. "The Curtain Falls...A Miracle Happens" Six months had already passed since the fifteen Sakhalin huskies had been stranded at the Showa research station in Antarctica. At that point, seven of the dogs had died on their chains, while three of the eight dogs that freed themselves (Deri, Shiro, and Jakku) had died or disappeared in the wilderness. Only five dogs were left alive (Riki, Kuma from Furen, Taro, Jiro, and Anko) as they continued to survive the harsh winter conditions in Antarctica. Though the five dogs continued to survive in the harsh conditions of the brutal Antarctic winter and the coming of spring, hunting for food became difficult for them on the ice shelves. They were soon forced to eat their feces, eat the excrement of seals, and even dig on the surface of the ice for gobies that had been frozen into the sea ice. Riki, Taro, and Jiro become devastated when Anko runs off into the darkness one spring night and disappears, while Kuma from Furen drifts out to sea on a small ice floe. Back in Japan, the government decided to proceed with the Third Japanese Antarctica Expedition on the condition that no members of the first and second expedition teams were to be involved except Shirasaki. Shirasaki, with Kuramochi in mind, started out on a quest to persuade the government to allow another member from the First Cross-Winter Antarctic Expedition team. Finally, after several months of being pressured by Shirasaki, Kuramochi, and much of the populace of Japan, everything was settled and Kuramochi was allowed to join the third expedition. The Third Japanese Antarctic Expedition was launched with as much grandeur as the first, bound for Antarctica with the hopes of rescuing the sled dogs stranded at the Showa Base. 10. "The Curtain Falls〜Transcending Time and Space...The Beginning of the True Miracle 52 Years Ago Concludes!!" After more than ten months since they were first abandoned by the First Japanese Antarctic Expedition, only three of the fifteen sled dogs were left alive (Riki, Taro, and Jiro). However, during their return journey to Showa Base, a severely weakened