The day before the Japan Cup.
By now, the streets were already plastered with promotional posters for the race.
As Sakuraba Ryo walked along, he spotted one Japan Cup poster after another, which only showed how seriously Central was taking this year's event.
Well, it was the Japan Cup—Japan's international stage opened to the outside world. It was only natural for Tracen Academy to make a big push for it.
"But this year's buildup is way more intense than usual..."
As far as Sakuraba remembered, the promotion around this time last year had not been nearly this over the top.
Granted, he had been loafing around in Kasamatsu back then, but even so, the scale really was different.
This year's Japan Cup publicity was on another level.
"Do they think this is their best shot yet?"
After thinking it over, that was the only conclusion Sakuraba could come to.
This year, two gray-haired Umamusume had burst onto the Japanese circuit and given Central a serious shot in the arm.
Tamamo Cross, who had ruled from spring straight through autumn and won three straight G1s.
Oguri Cap, winner of the Japanese Derby, who had gone blow for blow with Tamamo Cross in the Tenno Sho Autum).
The White Lightning and the Gray Monster—those two were probably what had convinced Tracen Academy that Japan could finally win the Japan Cup this year.
After all, Japan's Umamusume had not had much luck winning it these past few years.
Now that a real chance had appeared, of course they were going all in on the promotion.
Still, Sakuraba could only sneer at this sort of pre-race champagne-popping from Tracen Academy.
Oguri and Tamamo might have a shot at winning, sure... but those overseas Umamusume in this year's Japan Cup were no pushovers either.
Take the win away from that lot?
He seriously had no idea where the people at Tracen Academy were getting all that confidence.
"But that said, whether Oguri and the others win or lose, I still need to find a way to lose a chunk of money on the Japan Cup."
The sight of all those Japan Cup posters made Sakuraba's hands itch.
If he could have taken over the whole promotional campaign himself, the money would have poured out like water.
But it was already too late to try and get involved in the Japan Cup publicity now.
If he wanted to lose money on this race, he would have to come at it from another angle...
Was there any move left that could burn a huge sum in one go...?
Sakuraba stared at one of the Japan Cup posters in deep thought when a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Signings!"
Just like how traditional sports teams recruited star players to join them, he could do the same and put together an international all-star lineup of his own!
To build a galactic superteam, the first thing you needed was to spend big!
Take Tony Bianca, for example—the entrant in this very race.
Winner of the Arc.
Without putting up four or five hundred million yen, there was probably no way to get her to sign. It might even take more than that.
The Umamusume who could make it into the Japan Cup were already valuable enough on their own. If Sakuraba just recruited a couple of racers out of this field and built his superteam, then even if they did absolutely nothing, the money would still hemorrhage spectacularly.
That said, they were not necessarily willing to give up their careers just to waste time with him...
Money alone would not be enough to convince them to join Sakuraba's superteam.
He also needed to make up a good reason to sell them on it...
If he was going to build a team like that, he needed some proper goal to convince the members, right?
Otherwise, why would anyone believe this was not just some shady scam?
"Sigh, I'm not coming up with anything good right away. Might as well go check on Oguri and the others' training."
He could not think of any suitable excuse for the moment, so he could only shelve the idea for now.
The road to building a superteam was still a long one.
...
Rapid footsteps, dense as raindrops hitting the ground, rang out across the turf.
Oguri Cap was flying down the track at blistering speed.
Kitahara Jo stood at the edge of the training ground with both hands in his coat pockets, his eyes following that pale gray figure sprinting down the straightaway.
Oguri Cap's footfalls came fast and strong. Every step carried a sense of urgency, kicking up flecks of grass behind her that swirled briefly before falling back down.
But Kitahara could tell that something faintly tense was hidden in that rhythm.
Her shoulders lacked the natural looseness they usually had when she ran through the finish, and the line of her neck, tilted slightly forward, looked just a little stiff as well.
The running itself was still excellent, but mixed into that concentration was something else.
An impatience to prove something. An anxious need to beat something down.
Kitahara thought back to the finish of the Tenno Sho Autumn, when Tamamo Cross had snatched victory by the narrowest of noses.
Oguri Cap had stood there silently in second place, sweat running down her jaw, her eyes bright enough to burn as she stared at a certain spot in the cheering stands for a very long time without looking away.
That had not been frustration.
It had been more like a fire that had only been forced down for the moment.
Even though she had entered the Zone, she had still come up one step short against Tamamo...
Maybe it really was because she had awakened it a few months later than Tamamo, and the gap in mastery showed...
"They're going to face each other again..."
Kitahara muttered under his breath.
On the Japan Cup posters, the two gray-haired Umamusume were often placed side by side. White Lightning and the gray-haired monster. The media hype, the audience's expectations, Central's publicity campaign—together they had turned this showdown into something like a destined stage.
For someone as fiercely competitive as Oguri Cap, that pressure was probably more concrete than outsiders realized.
She wanted to win. Wanted to surpass her limits. And more than anything, she wanted to surpass the figure who had stood in her way that autumn.
Now she was accelerating lap after lap, as if trying to fling that restlessness behind her along with the resistance of the air itself.
Kitahara could see her tightly pressed lips, and every now and then the quick glance she would shoot toward the empty rival lane before pulling it right back.
She was not just training for the Japan Cup.
It was more like, in her heart, she was racing an imaginary Tamamo Cross over and over again.
Just as Kitahara was watching in concentration, familiar footsteps sounded behind him. He turned and saw Sakuraba Ryo strolling over, his eyes also resting on the gray figure on the track.
"Kitahara, so you're here."
Sakuraba came to a stop beside him.
"How's Oguri looking? I came to check in."
Kitahara had not expected Sakuraba to suddenly drop by and inspect training, and the surprise showed for a moment. But a smile quickly spread across his face, and he answered in an easy tone.
"Sakuraba-san, you're here! Oguri's in very good shape! Just look at her speed and stamina—they've both improved again compared to a few days ago. At this rate, she's got a pretty good chance of winning the Japan Cup!"
As he said it, he pointed toward the track, where Oguri Cap was launching into another sharp burst, his voice full of confidence.
"A pretty good chance of winning?"
Hearing that, Sakuraba felt much more at ease inside.
Normally, if Oguri was in good enough shape for an ordinary race, Kitahara would already be telling him the win was in the bag.
Now he was only saying her chances were pretty good...
Looks like the Japan Cup really is a tough one after all.
Odds of losing money: UP.
The professional smile on Kitahara's face faltered slightly.
He had keenly noticed that after hearing his confident report, Sakuraba's brows seemed to knit almost imperceptibly. Even the way he looked at the track carried a hint of scrutiny rather than simple relief or anticipation.
That tiny shift in expression made Kitahara's heart jolt.
Had he laid it on too thick just now, and been caught trying to gloss over that trace of restlessness in Oguri?
Or was Sakuraba-san's eye really just that sharp—sharp enough to see straight through the tiny irregularities in her condition during training?
Kitahara quickly put away the more exaggerated part of his smile, his tone turning cautious and probing instead.
"Sakuraba-san... do you think Oguri's got some kind of problem right now?"
At that, Sakuraba whipped his head around toward Kitahara. His expression switched almost instantly into matter-of-fact certainty, and his answer came down sharp and fast, with a clear what kind of question is that edge to it.
"A problem? What problem could there be? Oguri's in great shape right now. There's nothing wrong with her at all!"
This time, Sakuraba did not dare run his mouth recklessly.
Last time he had spouted nonsense, and somehow Oguri Cap had gone and awakened some Zone thing.
This time he was saying absolutely nothing!
He would deny nothing!
He would offer zero advice!
A pure validation machine!
There's no way that can go wrong, right?!
As if to make his point even more convincing, he gave an emphatic nod, then turned his gaze back toward the running figure on the track, his eyes full of wholehearted approval.
Apparently feeling that blanket affirmation alone still was not enough, Sakuraba thought for a moment, then waved toward Oguri Cap, who had just finished a sprint and was easing down slightly to catch her breath.
"Oguri! Come here a second!"
The pale gray figure immediately turned at his voice and ran over at a quick pace. Her chest was rising and falling slightly, fine beads of sweat clung to her temples, and there was still a trace of training-sharpened intensity—and lingering thought—left in her eyes.
But the instant she saw Sakuraba, they lit up all at once.
"Ryo!"
Oguri Cap came to a stop. Her voice was steady, but Kitahara could see that her jaw was still tight.
Sakuraba looked her up and down, then broke into a bright, utterly trust-filled smile. He gave her shoulder a firm slap—hard enough to make even Oguri Cap sway a little.
"You're looking great! I saw those last few sprint laps just now, and you're holding your form really well! Tomorrow, don't think about anything. Just run the way you always do in training! I believe in you!"
His words were simple and direct. There was no complicated tactical analysis in them, and no mention of Tamamo Cross or any other opponent. He was simply affirming her current state and pouring unwavering trust into her.
Oguri Cap froze for a moment, as if she had not expected Sakuraba to say that out of nowhere.
She looked at his completely unclouded smile, at the certainty shining in his eyes, and the thin layer of tension there in her own—the brittle urge to prove something—seemed to shatter all at once under those blunt, simple words.
She blinked, drew in a deep breath, and when she slowly let it out, her shoulders loosened just a fraction. The lips she had kept pressed together relaxed as well.
"Yes!"
She straightened her back, and her voice came out much clearer than before. The restlessness in her eyes had been replaced by a steadier, newly kindled fighting spirit.
"I'll give it everything I've got!"
"At the Japan Cup, I'll bring that trophy back to you!"
Watching Oguri Cap's spirits visibly lift as she turned and threw herself back into training with a lighter, more focused posture, Kitahara could not help smacking his lips in amazement from the side.
He had still been trying to figure out how to gently calm that restlessness.
But Sakuraba-san had flipped the entire atmosphere with just a few sentences. He had not even touched the heart of the problem—just encouragement and trust, nothing more.
No wonder he was Sakuraba-san.
Kitahara could not help but marvel inwardly. That precise grasp of an Umamusume's mental state, that kind of influence over it... it really was unfathomable.
He had only been worried about Oguri's mindset to begin with.
But after Sakuraba-san handled it like this, Oguri now lacked nothing at all.
"Sakuraba-san, don't worry! Oguri's absolutely going to race at a level beyond even your expectations!"
"You can rest easy—completely!"
"Uh..."
Sakuraba's feelings were complicated in the face of Kitahara's gratitude.
Huh?
Did I just do something I wasn't supposed to do again?
Why is he thanking me now too??
...No, that has to be my imagination.
It was just a little pep talk. That can't matter that much, right?
Sakuraba shook his head, trying to fling away the ominous feeling. Then, after saying goodbye to Oguri and the others, he headed off to find Tamamo Cross.
How could a strategy of pure affirmation possibly be wrong?
He refused to believe it.
He was going to go give Tamamo a pep talk too!
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T/N: WHO GETS BUFFS FROM PEP TALKS???????????????