Kyoto Racecourse was waiting for one name to ring out.
Almond Eye and Verxina were, without question, among the brightest Umamusume stars of this era, but—
For an Umamusume, surely what the crowd cared about most was still results, wasn't it?
Verxina and Almond Eye were undeniably outstanding in all sorts of ways, but in that one regard, the gap was simply too wide.
Their opponent was that girl—the one who had beaten them head-on twice...!
"WELL NOW, BOTH THE FIRST AND SECOND FAVORITES HAVE MADE THEIR APPEARANCES. TO BE HONEST, HAVING COMMENTATED ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE OKA SHO AND THE JAPANESE OAKS, THIS TRULY STIRS THE HEART IN EVERY SENSE OF THE PHRASE. I'M SURE EVERYONE WHO HAS FOLLOWED THE TRIPLE TIARA FEELS THE SAME WAY."
"IT REALLY IS THE KIND OF SCENE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING AND WAITING FOR."
"IT IS. IT'S A STRANGE FEELING, TOO. PERHAPS A COMMENTATOR'S PERSPECTIVE DIFFERS SUBTLY FROM THE AUDIENCE'S, BUT IN TERMS OF HAVING FOLLOWED THE TRIPLE TIARA'S RESULTS ALL THIS WAY, THERE'S NOT THE SLIGHTEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US."
"THEN, THE NEXT UMAMUSUME TO STEP OUT OF THE COMPETITORS' TUNNEL, APPEAR BEFORE ALL OF US, AND SHOW HERSELF TO THE WORLD—WHO COULD SHE BE...?"
It was—
In truth, this was a trick they had already used when introducing Verxina and Almond Eye, but clearly...
The spectators didn't mind at all. Or rather, they poured out their cheers with tremendous enthusiasm.
After all, this really was the race they had followed all the way here and watched with their own eyes...!
"Gentildonna!!!"
"Gentildonna!!!!"
Along with the screams and cheers, there were even all sorts of shouts that were hard to make sense of—
Gotham Song distinctly heard something like "Gentildonna-sama!" roaring through the air.
That voice sounded a little familiar, though... Weren't you cheering for Verxina just now?
It was a little funny, but Gotham Song said nothing. She merely watched the competitors' tunnel as the familiar Umamusume came into view.
If Verxina and Almond Eye could be said to have trotted into the arena, then Gentildonna gave off an air of extraordinary leisure.
Her steps were light, without the slightest hint of urgency. Step by step, carrying the echoes of her racing shoes striking the ground within the surrounding passageway, she slowly walked from the place where only she stood toward the brilliant light ahead.
Amid the cheers, Gentildonna appeared before the entire world.
She appeared at the final stop of her Triple Tiara journey, inside the glorious Kyoto Racecourse she was certain to conquer...!
Composure? Perhaps.
But in Gotham Song's eyes, what Gentildonna showed even more than composure was resolve.
The resolve to seize victory.
For this Umamusume she knew so well, there seemed to be no reason at all that could make her think, even in advance, that she might lose.
Gentildonna was not so much an Umamusume overflowing with confidence and strength as one overflowing with resolve.
She had never been confident in every race because she believed herself invincibly powerful. She was simply, firmly, obsessively certain that she would win every race placed before her...!
In a sense, perhaps that was the indispensable quality needed to become a legendary Umamusume.
Gotham Song found the thought hard to put into words. All she could say was that every Umamusume had something different about her, and Gentildonna's uniqueness might very well lie here.
Resolve was Gentildonna's greatest weapon.
Her greatest weapon compared to Verxina and Almond Eye.
And precisely because that resolve would shine even in the darkness, Gentildonna showed not the slightest trace of nerves before this glittering moment. Calm, composed, her steps so light they could almost be called buoyant, she emerged from the competitors' tunnel and displayed her lithe, powerful figure before everyone.
Victory in the Triple Tiara—wasn't it already within reach?
If anyone, anything, everything in the world tried at this moment to stop her from claiming the victory that was bound to be hers, then they would only be mercilessly sent flying, wouldn't they?
This was not a fight over victory. It was merely a matter of taking it into her hands.
In other words...
The arrow had already struck the bull's-eye. All that remained was to draw the bow and loose it. That was all!
"WHAT CONFIDENCE. IN EVERY SENSE, IT'S AN AURA ONE COULD CALL SUPERIOR. GENTILDONNA CLEARLY HAS VICTORY IN THIS RACE WELL WITHIN HER GRASP, DOESN'T SHE? COULD IT BE THAT TODAY, WE WILL WITNESS THE BIRTH OF A NEW TRIPLE TIARA LEGEND RIGHT HERE, ON THIS STAGE THAT HAS DRAWN THE EYES OF THE ENTIRE WORLD...?!"
"WHETHER FROM MY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE OR FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AS A COMMENTATOR, THAT IS SOMETHING TREMENDOUSLY EXCITING TO LOOK FORWARD TO. EVEN SO, VERXINA AND ALMOND EYE GETTING THEIR REVENGE WOULD BE JUST AS EXCITING. AND WHAT IS CERTAIN IS THAT THIS RACE WILL BE SO SPECTACULAR IT COULD VERY WELL BE CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST OF THE YEAR. ALL RIGHT, GENTILDONNA HAS ENTERED THE GATE, SO THE RACE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. LET US WAIT JUST A LITTLE LONGER—AND THEN BEAR WITNESS!"
Under the eyes of the crowd, Gentildonna entered the gate, so relaxed one could almost call it effortless. Behind her came Almond Eye, just as light on her feet.
Both of them had been trained by Gotham Song, so naturally they had no fear of the starting gate. Still, this was the first time they had shown it in front of everyone, and for a moment, it drew a few surprised voices.
But compared to the brilliant race now close at hand, no one cared about that anymore. In fact, before the last few Umamusume had even entered the gates, the noise from the stands had already quieted considerably. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for the race to begin.
Waiting for that moment, watched by all, to begin shining.
Kyoto Racecourse had fallen into an unprecedented, silent fervor.
Yet in Gotham Song's eyes, there was something else.
Clearly, the race was about to begin. That was how ordinary people saw it. But in reality, for someone who knew several of the participants quite well, this contest had begun long ago.
Before the race began, long, long before. It could even be said that not long after the Japanese Oaks ended, unseen smoke from the battlefield had already started to burn.
At this moment, the two Umamusume ranked first and second favorite had already carried out who knew how many intricate mind games, who knew how many spiraling tactical exchanges, outside the racecourse.
So what would the result be?
Almond Eye was in gate twelve. Verxina was in gate eight. And Gentildonna...
Gate four?
In a sense, that should have been an incredibly subtle position for her. After all, the key to this race lay in the turn at the end of the first straight—whether Almond Eye could secure enough of an advantage there. The same went for Verxina.
In other words, if Gentildonna's position was closer to the inside...
Her advantage would be immense. She would not even need to expend much strength. As long as she leisurely followed behind Almond Eye and Verxina without being left behind, then when they entered the turn, she could charge straight through and claim a complete tactical victory!
But would Gentildonna lose herself in, or be satisfied by, such an easy victory?
The first red light lit up. Gotham Song suddenly had a faint premonition. As an Umamusume experienced in every sense of the word, she caught the thick, impossible-to-disperse scent of gunpowder drifting from the far-off start of the race.
Gentildonna was not that kind of Umamusume.
Even if she could seize a tactical victory so easily, even if she could claim the honor of the Triple Tiara so easily, to her, that would practically be shameful.
In other words...
She would pay her opponents the greatest respect by defeating them in the simplest, roughest, most direct way possible and taking victory in this race.
Then, since she was in this position—no, since Almond Eye had almost provocatively guessed the optimal tactic earlier—
Then!
The second red light lit up. The wind blew across the entire racecourse, and Gotham Song unconsciously curved her lips.
You really do have guts, Gentildonna.
In a certain sense, you might have completely surpassed me after all.
Then let me see it.
Your determination, and Almond Eye's resolve...!
In the instant when time itself seemed to freeze, the red light suddenly dropped. The whole racecourse waited in utter silence, waiting for the war horn to sound.
And what replaced that long, ancient-sounding call was a dazzling green light!
The gates opened at the same time, but the ones who shot out together were, astonishingly, three Umamusume at once!
Gentildonna, Almond Eye, and Verxina ran side by side. All three had broken perfectly from the gate, charging from positions four, eight, and twelve toward the end of the opening straight.
But clearly, Gentildonna's position was better. With the advantage of her placement, she was even slightly ahead of the other two.
More than that...!
Compared to Verxina and Almond Eye, she showed utter madness. She was advancing at full force without the slightest sign of slowing down. She had even abandoned the running style she had always favored and launched into a Runaway...?!
"WHAT A SHOCK! ALL RUNNERS HAVE BROKEN FROM THE GATES, BUT THE FIRST FAVORITE, GENTILDONNA FROM GATE FOUR, HAS ACTUALLY CHOSEN A RUNAWAY STRATEGY! AND SHE'S DIRECTLY SUPPRESSING VERXINA AND ALMOND EYE, WHO SHOULD HAVE THE ADVANTAGE IN SPEED? THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!"
"TACTICALLY SPEAKING, GENTILDONNA ONLY NEEDED TO AVOID BEING PULLED TOO FAR BEHIND BEFORE THE FIRST TURN, CLING TIGHTLY TO THE UMAMUSUME IN FRONT, AND THEN USE THE TURN TO BREAK THROUGH, DIDN'T SHE?!"
"THERE IS NO WAY GENTILDONNA FAILED TO THINK OF SUCH AN ALMOST CERTAIN PATH TO VICTORY. OR COULD IT BE—YES, COULD SHE BE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE? IS SHE DELIBERATELY REFUSING TO CHOOSE THE SURE-WIN TACTIC, THE TACTIC THAT SHOULD MAKE DEFEAT IMPOSSIBLE, AND INSTEAD CHOOSING TO HAVE A REAL, HEAD-ON BATTLE WITH ALMOND EYE AND VERXINA, HER TWO OLD RIVALS—A CONTEST WHERE VICTORY AND DEFEAT ARE ENTRUSTED TO THEIR OWN TWO LEGS?!"
The commentator felt almost breathless. An Umamusume could not possibly give up the pursuit of victory. To cast aside a sure-win plan and instead choose something this insane could only mean one thing.
It meant...
"EVEN WITHOUT TACTICS, IF IT'S A CONTEST OF STAMINA AND GUTS ALONE, GENTILDONNA ABSOLUTELY WON'T LOSE TO ANYONE... SHE HAS THAT LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE, HUH? THAT REALLY IS OVERFLOWING SELF-BELIEF."
It was an absolute courage that even Gotham Song could only bow to.
The Umamusume in the stands murmured in admiration, then took a deep breath and fixed her gaze on the figures running on the course.
Then let me see your courage, Gentildonna!
On the course, the chase continued. But clearly, both Almond Eye and Verxina had been caught off guard.
There was no way they could have predicted this, was there?
Until the race began, Almond Eye had still been thinking over how she should contain Gentildonna. Even the time leading up to this had been spent on specialized training for that purpose. She knew where the greatest opening in this race lay. She knew exactly what her most likely defeat would look like...!
The first turn was her only chance, and also her greatest vulnerability. If Gentildonna broke through there, then Almond Eye would have almost no possibility of taking victory.
But put another way...
As long as Gentildonna did not break through there, then she had absolutely no chance of defeating Almond Eye.
But—But Almond Eye had never expected Gentildonna to launch into such a desperate Runaway right from the start of the race?!
And because of her positional advantage, along with the fact that she had taken the tactical initiative herself, Gentildonna had even opened up a slight gap?!
The initiative was held firmly in Gentildonna's hands. Her Runaway from the very start had caught everyone off guard, Almond Eye included. Despite being faster, Almond Eye had instead fallen behind because she lacked enough time to accelerate.
Even so, she felt no panic whatsoever.
If anything, the blood boiling inside her burned all the more fiercely through her entire body.
So this is your challenge, Gentildonna?
All right.
All right!!
If that's how it is, then no matter what, I ought to show you what real strength looks like. After all, when it comes to speed, there's no way you can beat me, is there?!
Almond Eye likewise began to sprint with no restraint at all.
And her speed...
Was naturally faster!
"SO FAST! ALMOND EYE HAS BEGUN A STORM-LIKE ASSAULT! NO ONE CAN STOP HER! EVEN THOUGH SHE'S POSITIONED FARTHER OUTSIDE, EVEN THOUGH HER ACCELERATION TIME WAS SHORTER, ALMOND EYE HAS ALREADY CHASED HER DOWN. SHE HASN'T FALLEN FAR BEHIND AT ALL! SHE'S CLOSING THE GAP WITH GENTILDONNA, AND SHE MAY EVEN OVERTAKE HER AT ANY MOMENT!!!"
"IS THIS HER DIRECT, FAIR-AND-SQUARE RESPONSE TO GENTILDONNA'S CHALLENGE? WILL SHE OVERTAKE HER? WILL SHE CATCH UP? WILL A FIERCE DUEL ERUPT IN THE VERY FIRST MOMENTS OF THE RACE?!"
Normally, this was the sort of scene that should only appear in the late kick stage of a race.
But everyone had already given up thinking about such things.
This was the kind of Umamusume race they wanted to see: intense collisions, a chase that refused to yield...!
And courage that would never accept defeat.
"GENTILDONNA HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN CAUGHT BY ALMOND EYE! THE TWO UMAMUSUME ARE NOW RUNNING SIDE BY SIDE!!!!"
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T/N: :sniff sniff: legendary was last updated september of last year......... i think its over guys
ITS OVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR if it isnt let me know on discord or patreon
discord.gg/wisetl
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