Chapter 056

Stranger on a Strange Hill (未知への挑戦!!, Michi heno Chōsen!!, "Challenging the unknown!") is the fifty-sixth chapter of Initial D.

Plot
Mako tells Sayuki that she wants to move on from racing, because she wants to get a boyfriend. Sayuki figures out that Mako must be interested in someone, and pesters her for an answer, but Mako says she's giving up on him. Sayuki realises Mako wants closure on her time as a race, which is why she challenged the Eight-Six. She tells her that she's fine with stopping, but only if they end with a win, to which Mako agrees.

At the gas station, Itsuki is shocked to hear Takumi agreed to race the SilEighty on Usui. Yuichi wonders if Takumi is racing for a reason other than to win.

At the Fujiwara Tofu Store, Bunta realises he's out of cigarettes, and decides to drive to go and get some more. He's shocked to see Itsuki's Eight-Five parked where the Eight-Six usually is.

On the way over to Usui, Kenji asks Iketani whose side he's on in the race, telling him that he had better not be doing this just to look good for Mako. He asks Iketani if he even thinks Takumi stands a chance, and takes his hesitation as a no. He says that Takumi will be easily beaten on Usui, as he's never raced on it before. He tells Iketani he gets that guys do stupid things for girls, but he can't sell his friends out for one. He gives Iketani an choice, either pull over and call the battle off, or lose him as a friend.

The group pull over at a rest stop, and Kenji explains to Takumi that they don't want him to race if he doesn't want to, but he tells them he wants to race.

Japan

 * September 16th 1996 (Weekly Young Magazine, 1996 Volume 39)
 * February 4th 1997 (Tankōbon, Volume 06)

Chinese

 * June 1st 1998 (Tankōbon, Volume 06, Sharp Point Press)

English

 * June 17th 2003 (Tankōbon, Volume 06, Tokyopop)
 * April 17th 2019 (Digital re-release, Volume 06, Kodansha USA)

French

 * December 10th 2009 (Tankōbon, Volume 06, Kazé)

Italian

 * June 27th 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 03, J-Pop)

Polish

 * July 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 03, J. P. Fantastica)

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Sayuki
 * Mako Sato
 * Itsuki Takeuchi
 * Kenji
 * Yuichi Tachibana
 * Bunta Fujiwara

Cars (in order of appearance)

 * Toyota Corolla Levin SR (AE85)
 * Toyota Sprinter Trueno 3door GT-APEX (AE86)
 * Nissan Silvia K's (S13)

Tokyopop/Kodansha USA version

 * The Jōshin-etsu Expressway is referred to as the "Joshietsu Expressway"