Kuramochi and all ten members of the expedition team were overjoyed upon receiving news of the coming of the second expedition team. Despite their joyous reunion, the expedition team ended up losing two more sled dogs. Kuma from Pippu broke his chain, ran off into the Antarctic wilderness, and disappeared, while Tetsu died at the base of natural causes. Shiroko, the sole female dog of the team, soon gave birth to a litter of eight puppies, bringing the number of dogs at the base up to 24 sled dogs. As the ship, Sōya, carrying the second Antarctica expedition team approached, it became entrapped by pack ice due to the changing weather conditions and the ship's lack of power. Shirasaki, going against Iwaki's instructions under the government's orders, was able to get the assistance from the US icebreaker USS Burton Island to break through the ice. With time constraints and the worsening weather conditions, the expedition team was forced to be quickly evacuated from the base back to the icebreaker Sōya. The 24 Sakhalin huskies, including Shiroko and her puppies, were left behind at the Showa station. 7. "The Conclusion with the Sakhalin Huskies" Shortly after being evacuated from the base, Kuramochi and his team members were informed by the crew of the icebreaker Sōya that they would return to the base to pick up the dogs. They managed to however make one trip back to the base and pick Shiroko and her eight puppies, as well as leave a small supply of food for the remaining fifteen dogs who were still chained outside the base. Following behind the USS Burton Island icebreaker, Sōya managed to get out to open sea once again. As a result of miscalculations however, the ship did not have enough reserve fuel in its tanks to send in the second expedition team or bring back the fifteen Sakhalin huskies left behind at the station. The worsening weather conditions prevented even air rescue of the huskies. Himuro and Kuramochi both angrily and desperately begged Shirasaki and the icebreaker crew to go back for the dogs, reminding them that they had saved their lives during the expedition to Mt. Botnutten, but Shirasaki tearfully told them that Sōya no longer had the power to help the dogs anymore. With the harsh weather conditions, badly damaged parts on the ship, and a shortage of fuel, the crew had no choice