Within the narrow gates, what exactly was it that could feel even more terrifying than silence?
Naturally, wouldn't it be the sheer aura of absolute confidence radiating from the powerful Uma Musume next to you, as if victory was already in her grasp?
However, such a thing didn't pose any significant issue for Gotham Song. In this Dubai World Cup, a race attracting worldwide attention, Gotham Song—who could theoretically choose any running style—had been assigned a gate neither particularly good nor bad.
Out of sixteen contestants, she was in Gate Number 5, located close to the middle.
As always, Gotham Song was the very first among all the Uma Musume to step into the gates. Actually, this fact had already astonished countless people around the world. Although it wasn't unheard of for an Uma Musume to have no fear of the starting gates, someone like Gotham Song, who behaved as naturally as a human being, completely unaffected, was exceedingly rare.
Most Uma Musume, even famous ones—for example, the most notorious in this regard, Mr. C.B.—would never willingly step into such a cramped space like the starting gates.
But it was understandable. For Uma Musume, beings born to freely gallop and roam in the wide world, confined and enclosed spaces like the starting gates were inherently terrifying.
It was precisely because of such instinctive differences that Gotham Song's complete indifference to the gates drew amazement and wonder from others.
After spending just a little bit of time waiting for the rest of the Uma Musume to enter their gates, the race finally reached the moment that left all spectators holding their breaths, unable to suppress their anticipation.
Only now, truly, was the Dubai World Cup about to begin…!
"It's a fine day at Dubai's Meydan Racecourse—just as in previous years, a perfectly clear day. And now, the eagerly-awaited Dubai World Cup, a 2000-meter dirt race, is about to enter its countdown. Let's all look forward to it! A race that unquestionably represents the absolute pinnacle of dirt racing globally—what kind of surprises will it bring to us all…!"
"The opening preparations are in their final stage now. The gate lights will turn on shortly, and in the instant red becomes green—"
"—That moment will mark the start of a legend unique to the Dubai World Cup, unfolding before the eyes of the entire world!"
[Red…]
Gotham Song inhaled deeply. In fact, in the final moments before the start of each race—perhaps no more than a dozen seconds—she always entered an almost unbelievably serene state. Everything in the world drifted away from her, leaving behind only herself, the race, and the competitors around her. Nothing else.
However, this state was fundamentally different from Twilight Song's once-uncontrollable flow-state, born from sacrificing her life to race.
That Twilight Song had been uncontrollable—but Gotham Song…
She was taming this cold-heartedness within herself.
[Red—!]
The gate buzzer's tone subtly changed, becoming sharper and more piercing than the first alert—as if specifically designed to awaken those Uma Musume who might still be distracted at this critical stage.
But Gotham Song was utterly unaffected. Right now, she was thinking about how to approach this race.
Generally speaking, even on dirt, especially in circumstances like now, she would undoubtedly choose the "great escape" running style to immediately take the lead. After all, no one so far had ever correctly predicted her choice or her opening tactics. This was her greatest advantage—an advantage impossible to ignore.
Then, if she executed her great escape in this Dubai World Cup, what would happen next?
Probably, there wouldn't be any substantial hindrance. She would lead smoothly from start to finish, securing victory easily…right?
Gotham Song wasn't sure, but to her, 2000 meters truly wasn't a particularly long distance. Even another thousand meters, totaling 3000 meters, would still fall comfortably within her maximum effective range. The only thing left uncertain was perhaps the supposed difference between turf and dirt?
But unfortunately for everyone else, for Gotham Song, dirt or turf made absolutely no difference at all.
This was the crucial fact nobody in the world yet realized…
There was no difference for Gotham Song. And at this very moment, those sharp fangs were about to be fully revealed—
Witness it clearly, Gotham Song's true power unleashed in a dirt-track great escape! Witness clearly… my overwhelming strength!
[Green—!]
At the instant the gate lights flashed green, the entire stadium plunged into an ocean of frenzied cheers. Dubai itself was a city built from desert sands, yet right now, the heat descending from the skies seemed only to intensify everyone's passion and celebration!
Within Meydan Racecourse, the roaring cheers thundered endlessly—!
Yet amidst this spectacle, Gotham Song—who had already mentally simulated every possible scenario—rarely felt genuine surprise at something unexpected.
From Gate Number 5, Gotham Song should've smoothly seized the inside lane, instantly accelerating to display her unmatched speed and proving her dominance on dirt—but instead, she encountered a completely unforeseen challenge.
Just as always, Gotham Song executed a nearly—no, absolutely perfect start, moving immediately toward her preferred position to surge ahead. But to her astonishment, another figure had already appeared in the direction she'd chosen, a tall, powerful body completely blocking her path.
This is too strange… I never even revealed that I'd pick the great escape style…?
Gotham Song's heart was filled with surprise as she gazed at the figure in front of her, blocking every route forward like a wall of blazing fire. Momentarily stunned, Gotham Song slipped slightly behind.
Whose figure was this?
It was Sakhee—the same Sakhee who'd exchanged heated provocations with Gotham Song before the race!
As the Uma Musume who had placed second at this year's Arc, she'd actually anticipated Gotham Song choosing the great escape running style, managing an interception nearly matching Gotham Song's start speed?!
"All Uma Musume have exited their gates—and the first to secure the leading position is… Sakhee?! Our favorite, Gotham Song, is currently running second! Clearly, shifting from turf to dirt hasn't brought her any real adaptability issues, but unbelievably, Sakhee has managed to predict Gotham Song's choice and position without any prior information?!"
"This is simply incredible!"
The announcer's voice carried genuine disbelief, as if witnessing something utterly impossible. Indeed, even as someone unrelated to the actual competition, someone who had no reason to prepare for the race, even the announcer herself couldn't have confidently predicted Gotham Song choosing the great escape style here…!
Who could have imagined an Uma Musume already dominating on turf would exhibit no diminished adaptability after switching racing surfaces?!
You have to realize, Sakhee rarely chose a front-running style, especially not at a distance like 2000 meters—!
In other words, she had specifically trained and prepared herself strategically just to face Gotham Song, making related preparations well before this race had even started.
How else could you explain this?
"Sakhee exited the gates just slightly behind Gotham Song—was this tiny positional advantage the only reason her interception succeeded?!"
Yes, positional advantage. Unlike Gotham Song in Gate Number 5, Sakhee, who typically didn't run as a frontrunner, had been assigned Gate Number 3, significantly closer to the inside track.
This, and only this, was the crucial reason she successfully blocked Gotham Song's path—nothing else!
Because in reality, Sakhee's start had been slightly behind Gotham Song's. Even if by just a small margin, she'd definitely trailed behind by a noticeable distance!
Yet it was this tiny difference in gate position that completely altered the entire situation, putting Gotham Song at a disadvantage and forcing her, for perhaps the first time in her racing career, to directly confront what could be called her greatest weakness:
Just how would she overcome the obstruction of the Uma Musume running directly in front of her?
"This is absolute madness! Gate assignments are only announced on the day of the race—are you seriously suggesting that Sakhee somehow guessed the identity of the mysterious contestant days earlier, predicted her chosen running style, underwent targeted training that could've been entirely useless, and only then secured the lead thanks purely to positional advantage?!"
"If a stranger had told me something like this before I knew about the Dubai World Cup, I would have absolutely called them insane. But now—now I can only say…"
"Sakhee, was this truly all within your calculations?!"
Was everything really calculated? If everything truly had been within calculations, she wouldn't have needed to rely on positional advantage to seize such a slim lead. In fact, as the audience marveled at her brilliant move, the currently leading Sakhee felt nothing but lingering fear deep inside her heart.
If not for her gate position being ahead, if not for this precise alignment of circumstances, the one drawing everyone's attention right now wouldn't be Sakhee, who'd secured an advantage through clever calculation—but Gotham Song, leaving the entire world in the dust behind her.
Absolutely unbelievable, right? Even Sakhee herself didn't realize just how desperately she'd trained. Before the race began, when only one spot remained unannounced and the whole world was furiously speculating about the mysterious entrant, Sakhee had already locked onto Gotham Song. After obsessively studying every single one of Gotham Song's race videos—especially her most recent great-escape performances—as a legendary Uma Musume who had placed second in the Arc and witnessed firsthand the unstoppable force of Helissio's racing, Sakhee had become utterly certain of one thing:
Gotham Song would absolutely choose the great-escape style in this Dubai World Cup.
Because no matter how she had seemingly chosen to run in previous races, the end result was always exactly the same. Or rather, the method by which Gotham Song won was exactly the same. It was a truth buried beneath a disguise of various racing tactics, revealed only through painstaking analysis and deduction.
In reality, Gotham Song only had one true running style—the great escape…!
All her other racing methods were merely variations—changing the start point or timing of the great escape. She wasn't some monstrous Uma Musume genuinely capable of adapting flawlessly to all running styles.
In other words… Gotham Song was so overwhelmingly powerful she could imitate any racing style with pure brute strength, casually mimicking it with sloppy execution and still claim victory!
When she truly grasped this fact, Sakhee didn't even know how to describe her feelings in that moment. She could only watch those videos over and over again until finally she found the key—exactly how she could lock down this particular Uma Musume.
Trying to compete against Gotham Song in pure speed was completely hopeless. Sakhee would never allow herself to assume Gotham Song might show only an ordinary performance on dirt—that would be surrendering to her own weakness.
Therefore, under these conditions, Sakhee saw only one possible path to defeat this terrifying Uma Musume—
Yes, Gotham Song was powerful, invincible, seemingly unbeatable—but Sakhee refused to admit defeat. She absolutely wouldn't surrender. She wanted this Uma Musume to taste just how bitter defeat could truly be—!
Thus, from the moment she resolved herself, Sakhee had devoted every second of her preparation until today's race to practicing just one single thing:
Her gate starts.
For an Uma Musume like Gotham Song, who clearly lacked experience breaking through obstructions—or rather, who always needed an opening to overcome being blocked—the best solution obviously wasn't to compete in outright speed.
Only by seizing an advantage at the very start, maintaining the lead all the way, until reaching a suitable position—or even suppressing her until the very end—could victory finally belong to Sakhee… this was the only way!
Yet even so, even Sakhee—who'd spent an entire week focusing solely on gate starts—felt her heart plunge into icy despair at that fleeting moment when, just as she was about to feel pride in her perfect start, she glimpsed a silver flash in the corner of her eye:
That silver streak had actually emerged from the gates faster than Sakhee's very best start—one that already reached the theoretical limit…?!
Was this even reasonable?!
Right now, as she raced ahead, Sakhee's heart overflowed with endless lingering fear and shock.
Because if not for the blessing of positional advantage granted by the Three Goddesses, Sakhee at this very moment would've already had to abandon all thoughts of first place, instead scrambling with other Uma Musume for the consolation prize of the silver crown—!!
But…
Since I've been given this blessing from the Three Goddesses themselves, Gotham Song—
I'll wager all of Sakhee's honor right here and now—I will defeat you!
Your first taste of defeat—I'll personally pin that medal upon you, pressing you down from the front for all two thousand meters!
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everyone is on vacation so no character notes this week
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