A rose-colored brilliance erupted, strong enough to scatter the sun itself—crushing every fool who dared block her path. In that instant, Donna's speed soared dramatically, shattering her previous limits. This Uma Musume, once restrained by her greatest disadvantage, now demonstrated an utterly impossible surge, ascending instantly to unparalleled heights.
The chains that held me back no longer exist. And now that the shackles are broken—what qualifications do you have, who needed those very shackles to compete against me?
Weaklings… Stand aside.
"Donna-san can still accelerate?! Unbelievable! Almond Eye-san was already so fast—astonishingly fast—but she still can't catch Donna-san! Her speed is unrivaled, her steps swift beyond imagination. Right now, right at this instant, there's only fifty meters left! Almond Eye-san is still trailing by five full lengths! Can she overtake her? Can she catch up?! Almond Eye-san!!!"
"Can you challenge the Invincible Gentildonna?!"
"Thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters—final ten meters… Donna crosses the line!"
"The winner of the Hanshin Oka Sho is…Donna-san! Truly an unbelievable victory—a jaw-dropping, utterly decisive win in both tactics and speed. Donna-san's victory could have been predicted, or rather, she predicted it herself! From the very moment she stepped onto the track and entered the gates…"
"…She must have been absolutely certain the glory of victory was already firmly in her grasp!"
Wasn't that obvious…?!
As the finish line appeared in front of her, Donna felt no inclination to slow down at all. Even at this moment, she continued sprinting at incredible speed. Only after she secured victory did she begin slowing gradually, bit by bit. Only after coming to a complete halt did she glance back toward Almond Eye far behind, offering a faint, cold smile.
This time, you're the loser, aren't you?
And then, once her smile faded, Donna turned around directly, not even giving Almond Eye a chance to approach her, much less speak. The same treatment was given to Verxina, who had been left far behind long ago.
I was clearly the weakest one in this race. Yet, under those circumstances, you still couldn't defeat me. Good. Next race—I'll be eagerly looking forward to your performance again.
Weaklings.
"This was truly an astonishing victory—or rather, I have a feeling this race will be recorded in history, destined to become essential tactical reference material for Uma Musume everywhere. Unlike Dancing Brave-san's completely unrepeatable style, Donna-san's tactics were straightforward, simple, immediately effective—perhaps even improvised on the spot?! After all, Donna-san couldn't possibly have known her gate number beforehand. Donna-san, she might just…"
"…Usher in a whole new era…!!!"
...
"Hear that? Unlike your totally unrepeatable style."
"Oh?"
Oh?
Hey—hey, Old Bastard No. 3, what kind of reaction is that?! Come on, respond to my teasing! If you don't get annoyed, I'm the one who'll end up annoyed instead…!
Dancing Brave gave a dismissive smirk. Clearly, she'd already completely seen through Gotham Song's intentions, so she just stayed silent, not playing along, denying Gotham Song the exact reaction she desired.
Hey, brat. I'm just teasing you. You didn't seriously think I'd actually get annoyed, did you?
Dancing Brave was thoroughly amused.
Honestly, during this entire journey, Dancing Brave had probably been the one most shocked and confused. After all, the current Gotham Song was entirely unlike the Twilight Song of her memory. But after thinking about it more carefully, perhaps this wasn't so strange. Back then, Twilight Song had truly been racing against the countdown of her own life, which explained her severe, silent demeanor. But now—now she had all the freedom in the world. Perhaps the current Gotham Song was actually closer to her true self.
Anyway, every subtle detail regarding Gotham Song's transformation had already been carefully recorded in Dancing Brave's private observations.
And as probably the single person in the world who understood Gotham Song most thoroughly, Dancing Brave naturally saw right through exactly what schemes were brewing in the little brat's head right now.
Heh, I'm not anxious at all. But what about you? Aren't you getting a bit anxious yourself? Ah, there it is—you're flustered again.
Utterly amused.
However, seeing Gotham Song's face turning increasingly red from frustration—even a faint pink rising at her neck—Dancing Brave knew it was time to back down.
Any further teasing and I really might get bitten... Although that doesn't seem too bad, actually. Hmm, anyway…
Activate: Ultimate Conversation Diversion Technique—guaranteed 100% effectiveness against Gotham Song!
"What's so bad about that? My tactical style truly isn't something normal Uma Musume can imitate. Even someone like you should understand a little of that, right, Song-chan?"
"You clearly realize how impossible it is for ordinary Uma Musume to replicate the amount of pre-race preparation I do."
What do you mean "even someone like me should understand"? Tch, how irritating!
Although Gotham Song's internal grumbling continued, she could still clearly see why Dancing Brave could confidently say something like that so casually.
Was it because Dancing Brave didn't want others to learn her unique style, experience, or technique?
Not at all. On the contrary, Dancing Brave genuinely hoped other Uma Musume could absorb all she had to teach, and then surpass her completely. That was precisely why she willingly mentored Helissio, and why she sincerely helped train Donna and Flightline whenever Gotham Song needed it.
Legendary Uma Musume never hid their knowledge when the right opportunity arose. Those old bastards always gently yet resolutely guided their juniors, reducing potential errors and pain in their racing careers.
The only difference was how actively they chose to do so.
Thus, every legend willingly passed on their experiences. But in Dancing Brave's case, the difficulty was simply too high.
Firstly, if any Uma Musume wanted to adopt Dancing Brave's preparation, she'd need to quickly gather vast amounts of information and immediately pinpoint the most precise, race-winning weakness with insane efficiency.
And even after finding that weakness, she'd still need to perfectly adapt to sudden race-day developments, instantly changing plans on the fly.
Sounds simple, right?
But here's the problem: not all Uma Musume had Dancing Brave's terrifying intelligence-gathering skills, nor her flawless on-the-spot adaptability.
After all, most Uma Musume struggled even with basic academics; the vast majority relied purely on brute force—stacking speed stats and raw numbers to dominate races.
In other words, Uma Musume races were still stuck in a completely primitive tactical stage, still stubbornly choosing head-on clashes even when clearly disadvantaged.
Expecting most Uma Musume to learn from Dancing Brave, mastering adaptability at this level?
You might as well pray every Uma Musume becomes Haya of Stars—relying solely on instinct to perfectly navigate any situation without thinking.
"Rather, I honestly wish that everything little Donna displayed today becomes common sense among all Uma Musume."
"Clashing head-on despite glaring weaknesses, relying entirely on speed, stamina, guts, and miracles to win—doesn't that seem strange to you?"
Dancing Brave said this, then glanced meaningfully at Gotham Song.
Honestly speaking, was Donna's tactical level in this race high? It wasn't bad, especially given her improvisational adaptability, deserving praise. But for Dancing Brave, it wasn't anything unimaginable. Rather, this was exactly what she expected Uma Musume tactical skill should generally look like—
This should've been the average level from the start…!
Looking around at a world filled entirely with instinct-driven, muscle-brained Uma Musume, Dancing Brave felt despair. She even felt that, by comparison, Gotham Song herself qualified as academic—
At least Song-chan studied a variety of tactical possibilities outside actual races, even if she rarely used—or never needed—any of them. At least she still understood tactics existed…!
This despair clearly showed Dancing Brave's suffering.
Ah well, whatever—hehehe.
"Strange is strange. But after all, they're Uma Musume. Expecting anything more would be even stranger, right?"
Slowly, chatting like this, the two walked into the contestant waiting room. Gotham Song clearly saw Dancing Brave's complex feelings, yet smiled gleefully.
This was satisfaction—sweet revenge for earlier irritation caused by Dancing Brave!
However, as Gotham Song pushed open the waiting room door, the first sight greeting her was Donna—her back turned to them, her smooth, bare skin exposed.
Clearly, Donna was in the middle of changing into her concert outfit…
Well, that really was… quite the coincidence, wasn't it?
That was Gotham Song's first thought. But as she froze in the doorway, Donna continued changing into her concert outfit as though nothing at all had happened. Realizing that the girl truly didn't seem bothered, Gotham Song finally exhaled, turned around helplessly, and stepped out of the prep room. She shot a sharp glare toward Dancing Brave, who was clearly teasing her with that knowing grin, then stood silently by the door.
It wasn't long before the door opened again. Donna appeared before them, now fully dressed in her Winner's Concert outfit—her face calm, almost as if nothing unusual had occurred.
Honestly, Gotham Song shouldn't have minded something like this. After all, she'd been a beautiful girl for many years herself. Just seeing someone's bare back—what of it? It wasn't a big deal—
But still!
After learning what this world truly was—after realizing just what could actually happen between Uma Musume—Gotham Song could no longer look at such "small things" with a simple, innocent mindset.
No matter how she looked at it, this kind of thing could easily become the spark for something far more troublesome, right…?!
You could say Gotham Song was a little paranoid in that regard now—so, seeing that Donna didn't react at all, she finally let her shoulders relax in relief.
On the other side, Dancing Brave said nothing. She simply smiled.
Ah, perfect. No one's upset. Everyone's happy.
"Trainer-dono, could I ask for your help?"
It was clear Donna had opened the door right after dressing, without doing anything else first. Her hair, usually tied neatly, now hung loose and unkempt. The brown strands shimmered faintly under the lights, scattering a warm, soft color as they draped over her shoulders.
"What do you need my help with?"
Gotham Song asked, though her hands were already reaching for the hair ornaments sitting on the nearby table.
"Could you please tie my hair for me?"
"Something like that… of course I can, Donna."
Gotham Song gently gathered Donna's hair in her hands, fingers slipping through the strands as she smoothed and gathered them, fixing the ornaments in place. Under her touch, the disarray gradually disappeared, returning to the calm, elegant style she usually wore.
Though it was rare to see Donna with her hair down—it had its own soft, lovely charm—Gotham Song couldn't deny that the usual composed, sharply beautiful Donna suited her best.
Still… she does occasionally act like a child, doesn't she?
Gotham Song wasn't even sure why the thought surfaced, but once it did, her movements became slower, gentler—more patient. She finished tying the hair neatly, then carefully fastened the ear ornaments. But Donna's ears were uncooperative, twitching slightly every time her fingers came near.
In the end, Gotham Song had no choice but to hold the tip of Donna's ear lightly between her fingers—her fingertips wrapped in the soft, velvety fur—just long enough to secure the earring in place.
Only after confirming that everything looked perfect—that this was once again the Donna she knew—did Gotham Song take a small step back. Donna, who had been quietly enduring the entire time, finally straightened her posture.
She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and turned to face her Trainer.
"Trainer-dono…"
"…Did you—never mind." Donna shook her head slightly, then steadied her gaze. "I'm going to prepare for the Winner's Concert now. Could you please… look forward to my performance?"
"Just like you do when watching me on the track."
It was rare to see Donna hesitate like this, her words half-swallowed. Though Gotham Song was curious about what she hadn't said, since Donna chose to hold it back, she didn't press further.
To the last question, Gotham Song gave a direct, steady answer.
"Alright. I'll be waiting—watching you as closely as I do on the track."
"On that stage too, Donna… steal my gaze completely."
You're capable of doing that, aren't you?
---
T/N: hehe i forget was it winners stage or concert... acutally idc
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