Back in "makushita" for the November 2007 tournament he turned in a "make-koshi" 3-4 score. He produced three "kachi-koshi" winning records of 4-3 in the first three tournaments of 2008, but partly due to knee problems, this was followed by three straight "make-koshi". In 2009 he achieved six straight winning records, bringing him to the verge of promotion back to "jūryō". Despite faltering in January and May 2010, a 6-1 record at "makushita" 11 in July 2010 was enough to return him to "sekitori" level for the first time in 18 tournaments. Benefiting from the large number of demotions from "jūryō" because of suspensions, he became the first wrestler since the instigation of the seven-day tournament system for the lower ranks in July 1960 to be promoted to "jūryō" from below "makushita" 10 without a perfect 7-0 record. Ryūhō described his promotion as a "miracle." Despite losing on the final day of the September tournament to the "makushita" wrestler Tsurugidake to finish with a "make-koshi" score of 7-8 he remained in "jūryō" for the following tournament. However, in November 2010 he could only score 4-11 at the lowest "jūryō" rank.