Shodai survived a close call against komusubi Takayasu at the November Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday to stay undefeated alongside fellow ozeki Takakeisho at the top of the leaderboard.
The pair occupying sumo's second-highest rank saw their competition dwindle on Day 3 of the 15-day meet at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan after their ozeki colleague Asanoyama pulled out with a shoulder injury prior to the start of the day's top-level action.
Shodai, who won his maiden makuuchi title in September, ran into trouble trying to dispatch Takayasu in the final bout of the day, but emerged victorious when the former ozeki fell out first while attempting a last-ditch shove.