Thanks for keeping it lively all this time.
The last triple tiara race will be even more brutal because Fight Gulliver and Air Groove trained with overseas umamusume running styles and racing methods, that's the only way to stop Suzuka's constant speed of Silence Suzuka.
if in fanfic, usually foreign uma musume use red skills and play 'body-fight' like aggressive body nudges that happen in oguricap matches.
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Fifty meters.
Air Groove found something buried deep inside, one final reserve as the last scrap of imperial pride refused to bow. Her purple Zone flared one more time, not as bright or powerful, but enough as she surged back to match Fight Gulliver stride for stride.
Thirty meters.
They traded positions three times, with Air Groove ahead by a nose, then Fight Gulliver pushing back, then Air Groove responding as golden and purple sparks where they touched in desperate collision.
Twenty meters left.
Air Groove and Fight Gulliver lunged simultaneously, both giving everything left and both refusing to yield even an inch.
Ten meters.
Suzuka's lead held solid at four lengths as she could hear nothing through her ear cover, could only feel the finish approaching with inevitability.
Five meters remaining.
The photo finish flash went off with brilliant light.
"SUZUKA WINS! SILENCE SUZUKA TAKES THE YUSHUN HIMBA!"
The crowd exploded as sixty thousand people screamed so loud the sound felt physical, like pressure against skin and bones.
Suzuka crossed first with milky white wings fading and blue-green Zone settling back into calm while breathing hard and chest heaving, but she was smiling because she'd done it. She'd broken through when they'd almost broken her, evolved when cornered, and found power she didn't know existed.
Behind her, Air Groove and Fight Gulliver crossed so close that even they didn't know who'd finished second.
Both collapsed immediately with Air Groove to her knees and Fight Gulliver to her hands and knees, bodies shaking as Zones vanished and left a hollow ache where power had been. The image flashed on screens showing Air Groove and Fight Gulliver frozen mid-stride with bodies almost overlapping, and judges zoomed in to measure millimeters.
"SECOND PLACE GOES TO... AIR GROOVE! BY THE SMALLEST MARGIN, -0.2 SECONDS FROM THE THIRD POSITION! FIGHT GULLIVER TAKES THE THIRD!"
Air Groove's head lifted slowly as the realization hit: second place. She'd gotten second after that desperate battle, after coordinating with Fight Gulliver without meaning to, after almost catching Suzuka, and even pulling even with her for that brief moment.
Second place, and tears started flowing before she could stop them.
Fight Gulliver stayed on her hands and knees longer, just like Oka Sho. She'd done everything right this time by saving stamina, timing her attack perfectly, even working with Air Groove instinctively to create a genuine threat.
And only take the third position, but she'd pushed Silence Suzuka to evolution and forced her to break through limits, and that meant something important.
Silence Suzuka walked back after slowing gradually until she could turn around, her breathing still heavy but starting to level out. She stopped in front of Air Groove, unsure what to say since comforting people was never her strength.
Air Groove looked up while still crying, but forcing a smile through the tears. "I lost again, Suzuka," she said with a voice shaking from emotion and exhaustion. "Even when Fight Gulliver and I attacked together, you broke through. You're incredible, truly incredible."
"Senpai, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." The lie was transparent but necessary. "These are happy tears, getting to push you that hard and seeing you evolve in front of us, that's something special."
When deepest beliefs crack, hearts crack with them, and Air Groove had genuinely thought that combined assault would work. She'd felt Suzuka's Zone breaking and had pulled even with her at two hundred twenty meters, only for Suzuka to transcend anyway.
But Air Groove was the Empress who wouldn't crumble in public or show weakness beyond these tears. She took a shaky breath and forced herself to stand before extending her hand with dignity intact.
"Congratulations, the undefeated dual crown queen."
Suzuka accepted the handshake with a gentle but firm.
Fight Gulliver pulled herself to her feet with legs trembling, but holding as she looked at both of them with a complicated expression. At Suzuka, who'd broken through impossible limits when cornered, and at Air Groove, who'd coordinated with her without planning to create that moment of genuine threat.
"Next time," she said with a voice rough but determined. "Next time we'll close that final gap."
"I'll be waiting," Silence Suzuka replied simply and honestly.
In the stands, Maruzensky's expression had shifted to something less playful and more serious. "Two of them were working together instinctively to restrain Silence Suzuka's running style... Your generation is terrifying, Hayato-trainer."
"They earned it," Hayato said firmly. "Every bit of that."
"The undefeated dual crown queen," Maruzensky continued thoughtfully. "Who evolved her skill mid-race under pressure. Are you still planning to sweep all the big event races this year?"
"We'll see, every race has variables, can only take them one at a time."
"Modest as always."
Hayato smiled slightly, but his mind was elsewhere because that moment at two hundred meters had been genuinely dangerous. If Unrestrained hadn't evolved right then, if Suzuka hadn't broken through when she did, Air Groove might have actually won.
I don't even know how to develop the red skill in the real world, but I didn't expect to see it in this match... It seems that the red skill is related to that of Uma Musume's own desire to limit other Uma Musume, unlike the yellow or gold skills that are about not wanting to lose to others' speed, the red skill is related to their mental ability against stronger opponents.
King Halo bounced over and grabbed his arm with excitement. "She won! Suzuka won again! Two for two!"
"That she did."
"Can I have snacks now? All that tension made me hungry."
"No, oguri...." Hayato gently shook his head. "We're going down to congratulate her properly."
The winner's ceremony began shortly after as Suzuka stood on the top step with Yushun Himba's crown placed on her head, Air Groove to her left still shaky but standing proud, and Fight Gulliver to her right with legs trembling but expression determined.
Cameras flashed while the crowd roared, three uma musume who'd pushed themselves to the absolute limit.
For Air Groove, it was bittersweet as second place after coming so close, after pulling even, after almost breaking through. But she'd proven something important, proven that coordination even when instinctive could threaten even the strongest runner, and next time she'd be ready.
For Fight Gulliver, she'd learned valuable lessons, had executed her strategy perfectly, and had even worked with a rival without planning to create real pressure. Next time, she'd be stronger, next time she'd close that gap.
And for Suzuka standing there with the crown, she felt quiet satisfaction mixed with something else entirely.
Fear.
Fear of what she'd become in that moment when cornered and with her domain cracking, she'd evolved and transcended to find power she didn't know existed. The Unrestrained skill wasn't just about speed, it was about refusing to accept limits and breaking through walls when they appeared.
She'd found her beautiful view, that moment at the absolute limit where speed met will and where doubt vanished, so only pure running remained. The view from the lead, the scenery belonging to her alone, but now she understood that this view came with a price: the willingness to break herself to protect it.
Somewhere deep in Suzuka's chest, the blue-green zone pulsed one last time before fading. The milky white wings were gone, but their echo remained as a reminder that when pushed far enough, she could transcend anything.
And she wasn't giving up that view for anyone.
----
Actually, it's not because Air Groove or Fight Gulliver are weak, but because Silence Suzuka is too dominant. First, Yushun Himba's arrival is longer/further than the King Halo or Seiun Sky matches, so the training Hayato did for months for Silence Suzuka has already surpassed the stats of her generation of Uma Musume, equivalent to Oguri Cap before meeting the Big Three Heisei or winning against Tamamo Cross. So even if Air Groove and Fight Gulliver use zones to shorten the distance, they still can't catch up with the gap created by Silence Suzuka during her great escape.
Then, regarding the zone being used to attack and becoming a red skill, it seems that this is related to the red skill effect, which appears to be connected to the mental strength Uma Musume has against her opponents. Like Gold Ship's death stare in the anime, or Seiun Sky's stare in the anime. (Well, even though what they used was basically their red skill)