Nakayama Racecourse.
Today's ninth race, the G1 Arima Kinen.
In the stands, the cheers of over 170,000 fans crashed down like a tsunami.
The air vibrated. The ground trembled. The frenzy was so intense it made the winter wind feel hot and restless.
"Now, the entrants are preparing to step onto the track!!"
The announcer's shout rang out in every direction.
With that call, the Uma Musume who had already arrived at the paddock and were ready to face the future emerged from the deep contestants' tunnel.
They stepped onto Nakayama's turf, the grass that symbolized glory.
…
In one section of the stands.
"Sensei!!"
A rough voice suddenly boomed.
A hulking figure, built like a brown bear, charged up to a man in a suit and grabbed his wrist, shaking it like a man possessed.
"Long time no see, Sensei! You doing okay?! Eating enough?! Are your muscles still twitching?!"
"…We literally saw each other yesterday," Naise said flatly, though there was helplessness in his overworked eyes.
He didn't pull his hand back. He simply let his extremely eccentric student have his moment. Only after the man calmed down a little did Naise speak again.
"So?"
Akazono Douji blinked and scratched his head. "Ah… you came to watch too, Sensei?"
"Do you think you can take it?" Naise asked softly, gaze drifting toward the course.
"…"
At that, Douji's earlier fire slowly went quiet.
He released Naise's wrist and walked to the edge of the stand, the veins on his right arm standing out as he gripped the stainless-steel railing.
His eyes stayed fixed until he finally saw her.
That short, slightly messy hair. That unwavering gaze.
Mejiro McQueen.
"Even though I really want to pound my chest and tell you not to worry, Sensei…"
Douji's voice turned heavy as he lowered his head. "I don't have even the slightest confidence about this race."
A faint flicker crossed Naise's eyes. "Why?"
"Two months ago, in the 3000-meter Kikuka Sho, Ryan got blown open by that McQueen. A massive gap."
"And Arima Kinen is only 500 meters shorter than Kikuka Sho."
"Even if Ryan has gotten way stronger these past two months, even if she's pushed past her own limits, I still can't imagine who could beat that monster in long-distance conditioning."
"…I see." Naise didn't scold him. He simply stepped beside Douji and looked out toward the track. "As long as she gives everything she has, that's enough."
Douji froze for half a second, then his eyes reddened. "Sensei!!!"
"I'll study even harder from now on, I swear!!"
"…"
Naise tilted his head slightly, saying nothing.
…
On Nakayama's turf, fifteen Uma Musume had already entered and gathered.
Each had her own routine, a light bounce in place, a measured breath reset, a last check of rhythm. But every single pair of eyes was locked on the tunnel exit that still hadn't lit up.
They were waiting.
Waiting for the final, closing act.
"The last Uma Musume to enter!"
At last, the announcer's voice rose, fervent and electrified.
"An absolute superstar, the flawless navigator of the new generation, the Far East's light that carries an unextinguished myth to this very day!!"
"The undefeated Triple Crown legend. Once again, let the radiance of victory be placed into Mejiro McQueen's hands!"
"Gate 4, Lane 7, the number-one favorite, Mejiro McQueen!!"
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
In that instant, Nakayama Racecourse shook with the roar of 170,000 people.
Their cheers fused into wave after wave of sound, battering the air until it boiled.
…
Whoosh.
A sudden gale swept across the turf at the exact moment the Uma Musume saw that purple-and-white figure.
An overwhelming presence seized everyone's attention in a single breath.
She didn't hide her aura at all. Instead, she poured a killing level of fighting spirit straight into her Domain, as if she meant to tear the track apart with it.
"McQueen…"
A powerhouse from the previous era, Yaeno Muteki, had a bead of cold sweat slide down her temple.
All the mental preparation she'd built before the race felt like it was about to collapse the second McQueen appeared.
"So this is Chasing Light… so this is the team Oguri joined."
She clenched her fists so hard her lower lip nearly split, forcing her eyes shut, rebuilding that wavering resolve in the dark.
Beside Yaeno, Ryan's eyes flared bright, her face filled with caution, yet threaded through with a kind of reckless, feverish hunger.
In Ryan's vision, McQueen was wreathed in endless white streams of light.
As the girl walked with steady calm, those streams braided into flowing ribbons that whipped behind her, holy and terrifying all at once.
Click.
McQueen didn't spare anyone a glance. Expression unchanged, she brushed past her rivals and headed straight for the gates.
The instant she passed Ryan, Ryan spoke in a low voice.
"Yes. That's it, McQueen."
McQueen's steps paused slightly, and she turned her head.
Their eyes met.
McQueen was surprised to find something in Ryan's gaze, a fanatical, abnormal spark like electricity.
It burned so intensely it looked ready to spill out of her pupils as actual light.
What that meant was obvious.
"Ryan…" McQueen murmured, genuinely caught off guard.
She'd already stepped into this, in Classic Year?
Back in Central, the ones who reached this stage, the "Pace Chasers," were who exactly?
Maruzensky, Symboli Rudolf, Fujimasa March, Oguri Cap. And perhaps Tokai Teio too, who was still in her Senior Year as a rookie.
And now, Ryan had joined them.
With that thought, McQueen's lips curved into a sincere, approving smile.
"You're strong, Ryan."
After saying that, she withdrew her gaze and walked on.
Ryan's crackling spark trembled. She hadn't expected her provocation to earn an answer like that.
"McQueen!"
McQueen's figure paused, but she didn't turn back.
Staring at that departing back, Ryan gritted her teeth and growled low.
"McQueen! In this race… I want to see your full strength!!"
"…"
No reply.
The girl simply stepped forward again, toward the gates.
On the other side, Shiro Taisei shook her head with a helpless look.
"Wow. Ryan's got nerve, huh."
She'd been left behind by a massive gap in the Kikuka Sho, and now she was talking like she planned to turn the tables and humiliate McQueen four times over.
At least while they were still in Classic Year, Shiro Taisei couldn't even imagine herself trying to measure up to McQueen.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Wakaba Millstone said beside her, one hand on her hip, a faint grin tugging at her lips.
For her, challenging Chasing Light was just… normal.
After spending a full year losing to Fujimasa March and Mejiro Ardan, she wasn't about to shrink back over something like this.
So she genuinely approved of Ryan's stubborn fixation.
Elsewhere, Haku Taisei and Ines Fujin exchanged a glance. Both sighed, but deep in their eyes, battle intent had already been lit.
"All entrants, into the gates!"
At the announcer's call, the Uma Musume filed into the starting stalls one after another.
"A starry sky stretching ten thousand miles, cutting through the clear moon. The final contest of strength is about to lift its curtain."
The entire venue fell silent. Only the announcer's heated voice circled over Nakayama's sky.
"Nakayama Racecourse, G1 Arima Kinen, 2400 meters!"
"Now… the race begins!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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