Editing Ryuji Sakamoto

Should the player pursue a confidant with Ryuji, he explains to the protagonist that he wants to reestablish the now defunct track club. He is initially met with hostility by his former teammates due to them blaming Ryuji for getting into a fight with Kamoshida and having track team disbanded in the first place. He also learned that previous assistant coach Yamaguchi is being promoted to the new coach of the track team despite having no credentials and severe alcoholism. That combined with other sports teams being in turmoil due to the fallout of Kamoshida's actions makes Ryuji worry that the track team is doomed to repeat the same mistakes and get disbanded again. After other teammates are kicked out of the team due to colluding with Kamoshida against Ryuji for letters of reccomendation, he asks the protagonist to help him spy on Yamaguchi and expose his intentions. They eventually find out that Yamaguchi does not care about the track team at all and only accepted the job for the attention and prestige. He plans to act sympathetically to the students and the public while letting other coaches do all the work and weed out all members that are not loyal to him by unfairly kicking them out. The protagonist records this monologue and presents it to the school. Upon learning this information, the track team decides to cut Yamaguchi out of their ranks and work with the PTA to rehire the coach before him. They also apologize to Ryuji for treating him so harshly and offer an invitation for him to join. Ryuji declines this invitation, as he has learned the importance of relying on others in times of need and fully commits to being a Phantom Thief.

When Takuto Maruki alters reality in ''Persona 5 Royal'', the track team never disbanded and Ryuji's leg was never broken, and he becomes the headliner of the team. After realizing this is just an illusion, Ryuji rejects this reality and the world returns to normal with his track record erased from history. He also steps in front of the protagonist and blocks the attack of a berserk Cendrillion, which inspires the rest of the Phantom Thieves to rejoin the combat. If the confidant is completed, Ryuji apologizes to the protagonist about him selfishly accepting a false reality, as he feels he broke the promise of protecting his friends and loved ones at all costs. He repents by doing squats until the protagonists tells him to stop. After Maruki's defeat, Ryuji tells the other Phantom Thieves that he would be moving away to a place close to a rehabilitation facility to properly heal his leg and get back into running competitively. He is later seen browsing a shoe store and picking up a pair of running shoes. In ''Persona 5 Strikers'', Ryuji returns for summer break and explains how he barely got past his final terms with three failed subjects.