a thigh injury. In January 2018 he had his best result to date as an ōzeki, finishing runner-up to surprise winner Tochinoshin with a 12–3 record. In the March tournament Takayasu started off with two losses but followed those up with 9 straight wins, before being defeated by Chiyomaru. Takayasu then went on to win his last three matches; handing yokozuna Kakuryu, who had already won the tournament going into Day 15, his second loss. Finishing the tournament with a 12–3 record Takayasu was a runner-up to Kakuryu, alongside fellow runner-up Kaisei. He injured his left upper arm in training shortly before the beginning of May tournament and announced his withdrawal from the first day, although he still hoped to enter the tournament later – "I decided to play it safe because I can’t compete in my 100 percent form. I still want to join the tournament if I recover in time." He ended up missing the entire tournament and was kadoban in July, although he retained his ōzeki rank with a 9–6 record. He was runner-up for the fourth time in his career in November 2018, finishing one win behind Takakeishō on 12–3. In July 2019 he injured his left elbow in his Day 8 match with Tamawashi, and withdrew after securing his majority of wins, defaulting against Hakuhō on Day 11. His withdrawal, following Takakeishō, Tochinoshin and Gōeidō, meant four ōzeki were absent from a tournament for the first time since the beginning of the Showa era in 1926. The injury forced him to sit out the following tournament in September. After starting the November 2019 tournament in Fukuoka with a 3-4 record, Takayasu appeared in the dohyō-iri before the main bouts for Day 8, but then withdrew suddenly from his match against Takarafuji due to lower back pain. Takayasu's stablemaster later confirmed that he would not be re-entering the tournament. As a kadoban ōzeki, a losing record meant that Takayasu was relegated to sekiwake for the next basho. He lost all chances for an immediate promotion back to ōzeki with his sixth loss in the January 2020 tournament, and will have to start over from scratch to regain the rank. Later career Takayasu was back in the maegashira ranks for the first time since May 2016 in the March 2020 tournament. He withdrew on Day 5 after four straight losses, with a left thigh injury. He returned