November 1st—the Autumn Tenno Sho was officially underway at Tokyo Racecourse!
Barbatos, Seiun Sky, and the rest of the Canopus crew had already settled into the stands, eyes glued to the pre-race interview clips flickering on the big screens.
To secure a spot in the Japan Cup, Nice Nature had been unusually relentless during the summer training camp, throwing herself into G-series races with a feverish intensity.
Now, having clawed her way into G1 eligibility, she had managed to squeeze into this Autumn Tenno Sho.
As for Matikanetannhauser and the others, they were beginning to struggle with the escalating intensity of the circuit.
A recent stumble in a G2 race had already cost them their shot at the Japan Cup.
They had wanted so badly to stand on that world stage alongside Barbatos and the overseas monarchs, but at this level, a single slip-up in a G2 is a door slammed shut.
Whether it was Silence Suzuka or Nice Nature, their pre-race interviews were the picture of modest grace—completely lacking the bite and psychological warfare Barbatos usually brought to the mic.
Some fans watching the livestream felt a twinge of disappointment, though most found it expected.
Trash talk would have been hollow today anyway; the air felt heavy with a sense of predestination. The result felt decided before the first hoof hit the turf.
It was November 1st. Silence Suzuka, the overwhelming favorite, would start from Gate 1.
The fans were obsessed with the omen.
They believed that following all those "1s"—the date, the popularity ranking, the gate number—there would be a sixth "1" to complete the set: a 1st-place finish for Silence Suzuka.
They expected a victory as effortless as El Condor Pasa's triumph at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Seiun Sky's dominance at the Kikuka Sho, or Barbatos's sweep of the Shuka Sho and Sprinters Stakes.
Nice Nature, the second favorite and a beloved member of Canopus, commanded plenty of attention and cheers. But even her most loyal fans knew the sheer scale of the gap they were looking at.
Barbatos watched as Nice Nature and Silence Suzuka stepped into the starting gates.
Suzuka's expression was as serene as ever.
Nature, however, bore the marks of her grueling training; there was a faint trace of exhaustion around her eyes, yet her gaze was so fiercely resolute it exerted a silent, heavy pressure on everyone watching.
"Go for it, Nature!"
"Nature! Win the Tenno Sho! Show Suzuka what we're made of!"
"Nature, at least make it to the Winning Post!"
Twin Turbo and the others began screaming their lungs out.
They weren't in the race, but they cheered with a desperate strength, as if trying to funnel all the energy from their missed G1 opportunities directly into Nice Nature.
Barbatos couldn't help but mutter a dry critique. "I don't remember you guys yelling that loud during my races..."
It wasn't jealousy—not exactly—it just felt a bit childish.
But then again, that brand of "childish" was exactly what Barbatos loved. After the quip, she leaned in and joined the fray, shouting right along with Twin Turbo to see who had the bigger lungs.
--+--
At the entrance to the grandstands...
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The rhythmic strike of boots on the pavement announced a newcomer.
A woman in sleek athletic gear stepped into the light. With cascading blonde waves and a mature, sophisticated air, she radiated the unmistakable aura of a top-tier athlete.
Anyone looking twice would recognize her instantly: Montjeu, the French monarch who had arrived in Japan just yesterday, still fresh from her narrow defeat against El Condor Pasa at the Arc.
While El Condor Pasa was still caught in the whirlwind of interviews and couldn't yet return to Japan, Montjeu had moved first.
She was here to acclimate to the turf, overcome the jet lag, and, most importantly, scout the opposition for the upcoming Japan Cup.
Before the Arc, before the Kikuka Sho and the Takarazuka Kinen, names like Barbatos, El Condor Pasa, and Silence Suzuka were spoken of in the same breath.
Since Suzuka was destined to be a rival in the Japan Cup, this Autumn Tenno Sho was a mandatory watch.
"Wow, so this is the Japanese Autumn Tenno Sho?"
Treve mused beside her. Their races back home had plenty of prestige, but the sheer volume of the crowd here in Japan was staggering.
"It didn't used to be this crowded," Dancing Brave remarked, stepping up beside Treve.
She had done her homework on the history of Japanese racing before the trip. While the sport was developed, the attendance figures hadn't always eclipsed those in France.
The reason today's race was a sold-out, standing-room-only phenomenon was clear...
Dancing Brave's gaze cut through the layers of spectators, landing on Silence Suzuka as she entered the gate. "A lot of people are here just for the chance to see this 'Pegasus' fly."
She shifted her gaze slightly, noticing the Canopus girls. "And, of course, there's the one El Condor Pasa mentioned—Barbatos."
"The one who single-handedly turbocharged the Japanese racing industry, brought in a massive overseas audience, and earned that kind of praise from the Arc winner," Montjeu added.
After the Arc, El Condor Pasa had said, "If it were Barbatos, she would have caught up."
That single sentence had prompted Montjeu to study Barbatos extensively.
Being "Japan's Number One" didn't scare her—she was the strongest in France, after all—but someone who commanded such respect from the woman who beat her was a threat that couldn't be ignored.
After reviewing the tapes, Montjeu, Treve, and Dancing Brave all reached the same conclusion: Barbatos was easily on the same level as El Condor Pasa.
Barbatos, Seiun Sky, Silence Suzuka, and El Condor Pasa—they were all residents of that same rarified air.
And while they might have lost to El Condor Pasa at the Arc or other French G1s, they were confident they could take the win back next time.
After all, was the current Japanese champion Barbatos truly stronger than the Arc-winning El Condor Pasa?
Montjeu found that hard to believe. Still, they weren't taking any chances. They had arrived early to ensure their bodies were at peak performance.
Clang!
The gates flew open, and the runners vanished into a blur of motion.
The simultaneous thunder of over a dozen Uma Musume hitting their stride sent a literal tremor through the ground near the start.
Montjeu wore a confident smile as she focused her eyes on Silence Suzuka, ready to gather Intel. "Now, let's see what this so-called Pegasus is made of..."
Her whisper cut off abruptly. Her lips parted in shock.
In her vision, Silence Suzuka—who should have been battling for position within the pack—had accelerated with such terrifying velocity that she had gapped the field by multiple lengths in the blink of an eye.
This was... impossible.
To these "monarchs," ordinary G1 racers were nothing special.
But to pull off a breakaway of this magnitude without even triggering a Zone like El Condor Pasa...
"I see. So this is the Otherworldly Front-Runner, the Pegasus—Silence Suzuka."
"When it comes to the breakaway... not even I, or El Condor Pasa, could outrun her."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.