Hokuten'yū had accumulated 37 wins over the course of the previous three tournaments, and it was seen as only a matter of time before he joined his stablemate Kitanoumi at the rank of "yokozuna". He had been picked out as a potential "yokozuna" since he was first discovered and recruited by his stablemaster. He had a perfect physique for sumo, but he suffered from diabetes, and his fighting spirit was also sometimes questioned. His first two tournaments at "ōzeki" ended with scores of 9–6 and 8–7. He did finish as runner-up in March 1984, and took a second championship in July 1985, but he never made a sustained challenge for "yokozuna" promotion. After finishing runner-up for the fourth time in November 1985, he was rarely in contention for the title in subsequent tournaments, and he was also restricted by a serious knee injury suffered in a match against Konishiki in March 1987. Nonetheless, he fought as an "ōzeki" for 44 tournaments, which places him fifth on the all-time list, behind Chiyotaikai, Kaiō, Takanohana I and Kotoōshū.