To the sound of the commentator's passionate voice, one Umamusume after another emerged from the contestant tunnel and stepped onto the greatest stage of the Classic Year.
On the turf of Nakayama Racecourse, Nice Nature stood quietly in her race outfit as the eleventh favorite.
She kept drawing in deep breaths, trying to fill her lungs as much as possible to calm the restless turmoil inside her.
She was not the only one doing that.
Nearly every Umamusume who had already come out was trembling faintly without being able to control it.
Some were clutching at their chests and gasping for breath, their tails swishing wildly behind them from anxiety.
Others kept stamping the ground with their powerful legs, marching in place, their eyes flickering with emotions that were hard to tell apart as excitement or fear.
"Eleventh favorite... That's even lower than I expected..."
Nice Nature let out a sigh and looked around.
One glance at the packed stands was enough to make the heated atmosphere crash over her like a gale, causing the girl to press her lips together slightly.
That fervor did not belong to her.
She knew very well that the overwhelming majority of people here were waiting for someone else to remain unbeaten.
That new star of Chasing Light, the junior of the "strongest active runner" Mejiro McQueen, Tokai Teio, who had displayed an invincible performance in the Yayoi Sho.
Everyone was waiting for her to crush the rest of them in this opening battle of the Classic Triple Crown and seize the championship.
No one was here expecting anything from her.
But the fleeting loneliness in Nice Nature's eyes lasted only an instant before she clenched her fist hard.
"It's okay. I'm just an ordinary girl. Whether I win or lose, that's perfectly normal."
She quietly comforted herself.
The next moment, the commentator paused, then his voice suddenly rose another notch and thundered across the venue through the speakers:
"Up next is the absolute queen of the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies!"
"And in last month's spring stakes, she claimed the crown with an overwhelmingly brilliant closing burst!"
"Now, her iron hooves step once more onto the turf of the Satsuki Sho, determined to claim that glory for herself!"
"The second favorite - Ibuki Mai Kagura!!!"
"Ooooooohhhhhhh!!!"
The cheers from the stands instantly jumped several decibels.
Unlike the earlier entrants, Kagura's outstanding results had clearly earned her the hopes of countless spectators as well.
Nice Nature turned toward the contestant tunnel, and the first thing she saw was a pure white hood.
Then came a face that was both familiar and strangely unfamiliar.
Familiar, because it was unmistakably Ibuki Mai Kagura's face. Unfamiliar, because Nice Nature had never seen her like this before.
The Kagura who was usually gentle and mild now wore a face frosted over with coldness.
She was dressed in a race outfit styled like a shrine maiden's garb, and there was a sharpness in her gaze that defied description, like a blade freshly drawn from its sheath.
Thud!
Her ornate boots landed beside the others with a muffled impact, and in that instant the dominance of this top-class Umamusume revealed itself without restraint.
"Kagura..."
Nice Nature murmured softly, but she did not go over to greet her. She simply let Ibuki Mai Kagura, wrapped in that unapproachable aura, pass by her and enter the lineup.
It was not that she did not want to say hello.
It was because, once that white-clad shrine maiden stepped onto Nakayama's turf, something suffocating began to spread from the deep darkness of the tunnel behind her.
It was a pressure beyond words.
It felt as though even the air on the racecourse had become thick and heavy.
Hum!
An invisible, terrifying presence poured out from the darkness like a tangible tide and instantly engulfed the entire field.
It was absolute confidence, and a terrifying bearing that stood above everything else, like some abyssal beast slowly opening its eyes.
In just an instant.
Drip.
A bead of cold sweat slid down Nice Nature's cheek and fell onto the grass.
All across the field, the seventeen Central Umamusume who had already appeared froze at the same time.
Some bit down hard on their teeth. Others began breathing faster. Fine beads of sweat gathered on every brow.
That crushing pressure sparked an instinctive tremor in the body, and every eye locked onto the dark exit of the tunnel.
"And now, the final Umamusume to enter! I'm sure everyone has been waiting for her for a very long time!!!"
The commentator's voice soared to its limit, almost feverish with excitement, and the entire grandstand erupted into a state of utter frenzy.
"She is the new generation of the supreme Chasing Light, an undisputed peerless genius!"
"From her debut race to this very day, she has never tasted defeat!"
"Today, she comes to reign over this Satsuki Sho course in the unstoppable form of an undefeated conqueror, like a true emperor! No one can halt her path to victory!"
"The first favorite - Tokai Teio!!!"
"Let us await the birth of the third undefeated Triple Crown Umamusume in history!!!"
Boom!!!
"Chasing Light! Chasing Light!"
"Invincible! Tokai Teio!"
The instant the commentator finished speaking, Nakayama Racecourse exploded.
The cheers of more than a hundred thousand people roared like a volcanic eruption, forming a deafening wall of sound.
The earth trembled. The air burned. The feverish roar of the crowd felt as if it might tear the roof from the sky.
And beneath that overwhelming wave of passion, movement finally appeared at the end of the tunnel.
But just as all the tightly wound Umamusume braced themselves for some overbearing demon king with a haughty glare to emerge...
...what came flying out instead was a small, slender figure, practically bouncing her way out of the tunnel.
"Yay! Tokai Teio has arrived!"
Completely unlike the other Umamusume who had stepped out radiating battle intent, she skipped lightly forward as if she might lift off the ground at any moment, happily waving with broad gestures to the stands all around her.
"Everyone's cheering for me. That's great!"
"I'll definitely cross the finish line in first and live up to everyone's expectations!"
A bright, sunny smile bloomed on her delicate, adorable face, and even the ponytail behind her bounced from side to side with her cheerful steps.
After flashing that radiant smile to the fans supporting her, Teio was just about to head for the gates when -
"Teio-senpai!"
A clear, youthful voice called out from nearby.
Teio blinked and turned toward the sound, only to find two adorable little Umamusume in the front row of the stands beside her, both staring at her with excited faces.
"Do your best!"
The one who called out was a black-haired, red-eyed little girl with a cute face and a red flower ornament tied to her right ear.
"Heh-heh, don't worry! I'm off, then!"
Still smiling, Tokai Teio did not stop any longer. She brought two fingers together, flicked them from her forehead in salute, then turned and walked away, leaving behind only a dashing silhouette.
After she had gone a little farther...
"..."
The black-haired, red-eyed little girl stood there in silence for a moment before suddenly clutching at her heart, her eyes brimming with satisfaction.
"Teio-senpai is so cool!"
"She really is," said the little tea-haired girl beside her with shoulder-length hair, nodding in agreement.
"Right? Right, Kitasan? Teio-senpai is the coolest and strongest Umamusume ever!"
The tea-haired little girl froze for a second, then instinctively argued back, "No way. McQueen-senpai is the coolest."
Hm?
The smile on the black-haired little girl's face instantly stiffened, like a warrior about to march into battle.
"That's wrong! It has to be Teio-senpai! Kitasan, you definitely got it wrong!"
"It's McQueen-senpai!"
The tea-haired girl puffed her cheeks and lightly clenched her little fists, looking incredibly cute.
"You're the one who's wrong, Kitasan!"
"Teio-senpai!"
"McQueen-senpai!"
"Mmmghhh-"
The two little girls pressed their foreheads together as they bickered, both with their cheeks puffed out.
But while they looked like they were arguing, to everyone around them, the scene only made them seem...
"Ahaha, they're so adorable..."
"They're actually playing around here. I really hope my future child can be that cute too."
The spectators in the surrounding seats all looked on with fond smiles.
...
But that little interlude did not affect the progress of the race in the slightest.
"All participating Umamusume, please enter the gates!"
At the sound of the commentator's call, the eighteen girls, each carrying different emotions but sharing the same goal, walked into the starting gates.
Clack!
The gates shut, as if sealing off the noise of the outside world.
Inside gate eighteen, Tokai Teio gently let out a breath and slowly closed her eyes.
Hummm -
When she opened them again, three streaks of bewitching crimson lightning flashed through her pupils and disappeared.
Outside, stirring music swelled through the stadium, and the crowd gradually quieted down.
Then the commentator's voice rang out, steady and unhurried:
"Beneath the drifting cherry blossoms at Nakayama Racecourse, where all eyes are gathered..."
"The G1 Turf 2000m Classic Triple Crown Satsuki Sho -"
"Now, the race officially begins!"
(End of Chapter)
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