Carl and Donut reach the blocked section of the course and discover that two giant kangaroo-like bosses are stopping both roads, with the remaining teams stalled on opposite hills. Donut inspects the nearer boss and realizes that most of the joey heads hanging from its pouch are dead, while one living occupant is actually a man in a kangaroo suit identified as an upgrade engineer. The boss description names the creatures Prison Pocket and Party Foul, explains that they are male marsupials grieving dead young, and warns that their caustic pouches can hold racers the size of joeys, which makes Carl uneasy when he sees they are level 170 gatekeepers.

At the hilltop, the surviving racers gather under the Taurin mercenary’s storm protection and argue over how to proceed. Genesis says the racers should form a temporary truce because the slimes have already been wiped out, but the meeting is derailed by Nico, who obsessively guards Penelope and threatens Donut if she comes near the pig. Dario tries to call Nico back toward the truck, Pontiff recognizes the Taurin from earlier work, and the bickering grows so chaotic that Carl has to shout everyone quiet so they can focus on the immediate danger.

While Carl watches, the teams on the other side engage the second boss. The boss does not fight conventionally; instead, it tries to seize attackers and force them into its pouch. When Chiyome throws fire into the pouch, the attack does major damage and seems to reveal the weak point, but the boss then pulls out a captured razor fox, now burning, and eats him, instantly restoring its health to full. That reversal convinces the racers that simple damage will not be enough and that a frontal assault will only get more people killed.

Chiyome reports that the pouch is still the only true weak spot, but the boss’s healing makes the problem seem impossible. Carl then asks Donut to examine the dead joeys more carefully. Donut confirms that they died of starvation and that their inventory registers as nothing but skin, which is an unusual detail. That inconsistency makes Carl realize the game is leaving a clue, and he starts to suspect the dead joeys are the key to defeating the gatekeepers and moving the race forward.