Chapter 131.
Midway through the final corner, Mejiro Dober effortlessly swallowed up Run for the Dream, her shadow rapidly falling over Mejiro Victoria.
"She's not actually going to make her move here, is she?"
a younger member of the Mejiro family muttered in disbelief back at the estate.
"What is so surprising about launching a sprint here?" Mejiro McQueen countered, crossing her arms. "I initiated my final kick from the last corner in both of my Spring Tenno Sho victories. In a slow-paced race, breaking early when you have an overwhelming stamina advantage is the absolute correct call."
As the most decorated and experienced senior in the room, McQueen's words carried absolute weight. The rest of the Mejiro family wisely clamped their mouths shut, choosing to trust Dober's instincts.
Down on the turf, Mejiro Victoria could hear the thundering footsteps closing in fast.
What's happening? Is Run for the Dream surging back?
Using the curve of the track, Victoria threw a desperate glance over her shoulder. Run for the Dream was exactly where she left her. Yet, the sound of tearing turf was practically right next to her ear.
By the time Victoria snapped her head back to the front, a familiar silhouette was already sliding into her peripheral vision.
"Ah?!"
Victoria gasped, her eyes flying wide. She whipped her head to the left.
Mejiro Dober was right beside her, her eyes locked dead ahead, completely and utterly indifferent to Victoria's presence.
In a flash of teal and black, she was gone.
"MEJIRO DOBER TAKES THE ABSOLUTE FRONT! LESS THAN 700 METERS TO THE FINISH LINE!"
The live commentator roared, his voice echoing across the roaring stadium.
"SHE HAS BLOWN THE WAR HORN FOR THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP! COME ON! TO ANY UMA MUSUME WHO DARES CHALLENGE THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD—MEJIRO DOBER EXTENDS HER INVITATION! CATCH HER WITH YOUR FINAL LEGS! SIX HUNDRED METERS LEFT! IF YOU CANNOT CLOSE THE GAP NOW, MEJIRO DOBER WILL PROVE ONCE AGAIN THAT HER REIGN IS ETERNAL!"
Amidst the deafening roar of the grandstands, Dober's world was entirely silent.
There was only the rhythmic pounding of her hooves, the rush of oxygen into her lungs, and the wild beating of her heart. She spared no thought for the rivals fading behind her. Having successfully broken from the pack, all that remained was to burn everything she had on the path to the wire.
Riding the downhill momentum of the corner, Dober unleashed her coiled leg strength. In the blink of an eye, she ripped open a massive lead over Mejiro Victoria, leaving absolutely zero room for counterplay.
"MEJIRO DOBER UNFURLS HER WINGS AT THE EXIT OF THE FINAL BEND!" The commentator screamed. "COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE FIELD, SHE HAS TAKEN FLIGHT!"
"Whoa—!" Kurofune gasped in the trainer's box, gripping the railing. "Dober-senpai has already left them in the dust!"
"There's absolutely no catching her, is there?"
Admire Vega whispered, her eyes wide as she tried to engrave this breathtaking silhouette into her very soul.
I want to run like that. I have to run like that. Only then can I—!
Beside them, Taiki Shuttle remained entirely silent. She simply gazed at the shrinking figure of her friend, a wistful smile on her lips, as if dreaming back to the twilight of her own Twinkle Series career.
"MEJIRO DOBER DOES NOT CARE WHO HER OPPONENTS ARE! AN ABSOLUTE QUEEN CRUSHES ALL CHALLENGERS EQUALLY!"
As Dober hit the final straight, Victoria was already seven lengths behind. The rest of the pack was finally shifting into their top gears. From the commentator's perspective, the final 400 meters would be a test of whether Dober could maintain her massive lead against the combined slipstream of seventeen charging girls.
As for anyone actually catching her?
The commentator's seasoned intuition knew it was impossible. Unless you magically dropped Tokai Teio onto the turf, no one in this field possessed the monstrous terminal velocity required to close a gap that wide.
But to the absolute shock of the commentators, the grandstands, and millions watching on television—the gap wasn't shrinking.
As the trailing Uma Musumes fired their final bursts, the distance between them and Mejiro Dober visibly grew wider.
A collective shiver ran through the crowd. A shared premonition suddenly gripped tens of thousands of hearts—
Are we about to witness a historic, legendary blowout?
Mejiro Dober didn't know what the crowd was thinking. She only knew that her body felt perfect.
My stamina is overflowing! I can hold this top speed all the way to the finish line!
Confirming her reserves, Dober narrowed her eyes. She leaned perfectly into her stride, maintaining her terrifying momentum as she soared down the final stretch of Kyoto Racecourse.
Two hundred meters left.
Mejiro Dober had pulled six lengths ahead of the new second-place runner, Fusaichi Airedale. The fruit of victory was already resting safely in the hands of the undefeated Triple Tiara winner.
Watching history unfold, the live commentator threw professionalism to the wind, raising his voice to a hoarse, triumphant scream to deliver his prepared send-off:
"MEJIRO DOBER MAKES HER FINAL SPRINT TOWARD A BEAUTIFUL, FLAWLESS ENDING! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITNESS THIS CURTAIN CALL! THE GREAT, UNDEFEATED TRIPLE TIARA UMA MUSUME PROVES HER KINGSHIP ON HER RETIREMENT STAGE, ALLOWING NO ONE TO DESECRATE HER TURF UNTIL THE VERY BITTER END! SEVEN LENGTHS! NINE LENGTHS! WE MAY NEVER SEE A TRIPLE TIARA CAMPAIGN THIS MAGNIFICENT EVER AGAIN! BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, BURN MEJIRO DOBER'S SILHOUETTE INTO YOUR EYES AND THE DEEPEST PARTS OF YOUR MEMORY!"
Overseas broadcasts were equally chaotic:
"WE ARE WITNESSING THE CORONATION OF THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD! SPANNING FOUR CONTINENTS AND EIGHT NATIONS ACROSS FOUR GRUELING YEARS OF COMPETITION, MEJIRO DOBER IS ABOUT TO CLAIM HER TWENTIETH LAUREL!"
"THE MOST BRILLIANT STAR OF THE MEJIRO FAMILY USHERS IN HER MOST DAZZLING MOMENT!"
Down in the trainer's box, amidst the pandemonium of screaming fans and crying teammates, Shuta Ann simply watched the love of his life. Her hyper-focused figure tearing down the turf was the most captivating thing he had ever seen.
"Just a few dozen meters left, Dober."
He whispered to himself.
The gap between Dober and Fusaichi Airedale was now so laughably massive it couldn't be calculated by the naked eye. Under normal circumstances, a runaway leader might ease up, slow their pace, look toward the stands, and perhaps even wave to the crowd.
But Dober, determined to leave every single ounce of her soul on the track for her final run, had absolutely no intention of easing up.
"MEJIRO DOBER IS STILL ACCELERATING!" the commentator shrieked in disbelief. "THE REST OF THE FIELD HAS ALREADY SURRENDERED, BUT SHE CHOOSES TO TRAMPLE THEIR SPIRITS ONE LAST TIME! THIS IS THE PRICE OF CHALLENGING THE QUEEN ON HER FLOWER PATH!"
A guest commentator sighed into his mic in pure awe.
"WE ALWAYS COMPARE BRILLIANT RUNS TO THE HISTORICAL LEGENDS OF THE PAST... BUT TODAY'S MEJIRO DOBER IS TRULY ONE OF A KIND. THERE IS NO COMPARISON."
As those words echoed through the stadium, Mejiro Dober shattered the finish line.
The tremendous gust of wind she stirred blasted across the turf and swept over the young trainer's face. Carried within that wind was the weight of four years of blood, sweat, tears, laughter, endless entanglements, and the unbreakable bond they shared.
"2:11.8! A NEW RACE RECORD! MEJIRO DOBER CLAIMS HER TWENTIETH G1 VICTORY AND CLOSES HER CAREER WITH ABSOLUTE MAGNIFICENCE! WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, SHE IS THE STRONGEST TRIPLE TIARA UMA MUSUME IN HISTORY!"
While the stadium erupted into hysterics and the commentators lost their minds, Trainer Shuta Ann just smiled. Gazing at Mejiro Dober's heaving, triumphant back, he spoke in a soft voice only he could hear.
"You've worked so hard all this time, Dober. Welcome back."