"Meisho Doto, when you go out later, don't act overly energetic."
"Try to appear a bit weaker, like Orfevre when she ran the Hakodate Junior Stakes—a little sickly."
Before the race began, Wada, just as he was sending off Meisho Doto to the track, reminded her, her head still a bit muddled from Wada's rubbing:
"If what that note says is true, then those Uma Musume will try their best to surround you and block all your possible routes."
"In that case, we cannot let them have their way. If we run this race as usual, we will not only fall into their encirclement but also be unable to escape."
"We'll just be walking into our defeat."
"So, let's switch tactics now. Meisho Doto, try to run as a End Closer."
"I remember you running as a Late Surger during the Japanese Derby, right? This time, we'll use an even more extreme version to make them let their guards down."
"Once the nerves of the Uma Musume in front are numbed, we will launch a full-scale attack and counterattack!"
"...End Closer, huh... I'm not very used to it..."
"But, since you say so, then I will do it."
Meisho Doto, who had intentionally started late due to Wada's words, did not lose her rhythm and wail over this loss.
As her feet rapidly touched and left the ground, she quickly regained her composure, recalling her conversation with Wada, and controlling her pace.
Everything was as Wada had said. The Uma Musume from Shadai, who had prepared to block Meisho Doto's attack route, now instead occupied advantageous positions to win the race.
However, those positions lost their meaning for Meisho Doto.
She was running as an End Closer this time, so she obediently hung back at the end of the pack, intending to conserve her stamina as much as possible and reduce her presence.
The goal was to break through all of the Uma Musume in that final stretch, once everyone in front had tired from fighting against each other!
"Very good, Meisho Doto, just like that."
Wada, now in the stands, watched Meisho Doto's actions and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, muttering to himself:
"Just keep this up until the third corner, then you can accelerate."
"2000-meters is nothing to you; you can directly start your final spurt there and instantly pass through everyone..."
"Oh? You managed to change tactics that quickly? And... it seems like you're trying something?"
Just then, a rather weathered male voice beside Wada made Wada instinctively become alert.
Wada turned his head and saw a man slightly taller than him, wearing sunglasses and a face mask.
He even wore a top hat on his head, as well a black trench coat, looking extremely suspicious.
Though it was October, the temperature had not really dropped. Wearing such attire to watch a race in such a crowded place was absolutely torturous.
Moreover, what made Wada most alert was the other party's words.
Wada's pupils slightly contracted, and he couldn't help but ask:
"You... are you the one who passed the note to Meisho Doto?"
"You guessed it, young man. Want a prize?"
The middle-aged man's weathered voice was quite uncomfortable to listen to, but the teasing in his words did not make Wada lower his guard. He immediately asked:
"Who are you? Are you from Shadai?"
"...Sort of, but I've been retired for a long time,"
The middle-aged man said with a slight smile.
"Don't worry, all the information I gave you is true. Your change in strategy was the right choice. If I were you, knowing this information, I would do the same."
"If you really had chosen to avoid the race, as I wrote, or foolishly dismissed this old man's advice as a joke, you probably wouldn't be seeing me now."
"You can be happy, young man; you have passed my first test."
The middle-aged man spoke, then turned his gaze to the scene.
However, Wada still had many unanswered questions in his heart and couldn't help but press on:
"You... why are you helping me? It can't be simply that you dislike Shadai right?"
"...That's part of it. The other part is because of my dau—"
As he was about to bring up something, the middle-aged man's tone paused slightly, then he immediately 'corrected' himself:
"Because of something a Trainer friend asked me to do."
"A Trainer?"
Wada immediately reacted and said, "So it's Trainer Fumino Nase, after all?"
"I never thought she would have connection this deep with Shadai, did she really go and ask you for help?"
"Yes, Fumino is a good Trainer," the middle-aged man said with a slight smile, very pleased with Wada's trust in Fumino Nase.
And his pleasure confirmed Wada's nascent thoughts.
In an instant, Wada had already roughly guessed who this mysterious man was.
However, Wada didn't know why such a big shot like him would appear here.
Appearing randomly in the Tenno Sho, surely he wasn't suddenly interested in the new generation of Uma Musume in Japan? Shouldn't he go to Kikuka Sho first? Why come here?
Could it be... he's looking for him?
At this moment, such a thought emerged in Wada's mind, and he couldn't help but feel a little scared.
This old father... could it be because his daughter drank with him, and he thought he was some despicable man, coming to demand an explanation?
However, the other party's current attitude was still gentle, friendly even, which made Wada calm his mind and allowed him to refocus his attention on the track...
"Hehe, we were all initially sent here to lose, but I didn't expect that all of us here can now fight each other for the championship."
At the front of the pack, five Uma Musume from Shadai were gradually converging towards the inner lane.
They had occupied advantageous positions due to their starting advantage, forming the 'Front Runner group' of the race.
Fortunately, Shadai had obviously considered the quality of the Uma Musume participating in a GI Race like the Tenno Sho.
They were generally Uma Musume skilled in Front Running. Although not all of them necessarily had the quality to run a GI, they were sufficient as Uma Musume for containment.
After all, even Shadai couldn't suddenly produce so many Uma Musume qualified to run GIs.
Moreover, Shadai needed to focus more attention on Kikuka Sho, so for the Tenno Sho (Autumn), they had only put in a little effort.
"Number 2 is currently in the lead, followed by 4, 7, 12 and then 14..."
"...Meisho Doto is still tightly at the back of the pack, not yet making her move."
The commentator's voice also perfectly chimed in:
"The pack has now passed the 1000-meter mark. The fastest time is one minute and one second."
"It seems like Meisho Doto may not be the obvious winner. Which Uma Musume will be the winner of this Tenno Sho?"
At this moment, several Trainers from Shadai in the stands, after seeing this scene, also nodded and secretly said:
"Phew, looks like the girls actually get to run this time."
"We drank so much yesterday because the audience would definitely scold us... Shadai really is ruthless, but now it seems that neither us nor the girls need to bear that blame."
"They don't even need to block her anymore, after all, she got sick completely on her own."
"Whew~, a stroke of good luck after being used as scapegoats. So it's fine now, right?"
These Trainer's from Shadai weren't evil monsters who didn't care about their in charge Uma Musume, they were actually quite good people, just forced into doing this by Shadai.
It was just that their current Uma Musume just so happened to meet Shadai's requirements.
If entering the Tenno Sho (Autumn) was truly based on ability, their qualification to participate would be very marginal; they would never get priority entry.
Unfortunately for these Trainers, and the Uma Musume currently running on the track, they would soon realize that they had celebrated too early.
If Wada, the professional at being encircled, hadn't known in advance that Shadai would play tricks and didn't immediately taken the correct countermeasures, then the two encirclements Shadai specially designed for him and T.M. Opera O would truly have been a wasted lesson.
This level of encirclement couldn't compare to any Wada had experienced.
This time, if Wada could still ride a Racehorse, he would definitely show them a unique skill he had learnt from an alternate version of them.
Unfortunately, Wada couldn't exactly ride a Racehorse now.
However, this didn't prevent Wada from teaching Meisho Doto this unique skill.
"Now, go, Meisho Doto!"
As if by telepathy, or perhaps due to their long-term companionship, a certain psychic connection had formed between Meisho Doto and Wada.
As Wada's soft words fell, Meisho Doto almost immediately reacted, finding the perfect moment to unleash her power.
Meisho Doto's Aura, which had been boiling over the course of the race , was finally completely unleashed!
"T.M. Opera O isn't even in this race."
"So... how dare you challenge me, you useless sacks of shit?"
Her tone shifted to the point it was unclear whether it was Meisho Doto or someone else speaking.
As these words fell, Meisho Doto, with an unstoppable momentum, passed through all the Late Surgers in front of her, like a distortion in space, flashing past them!
'What in the world was that?!'
The Uma Musume whom Meisho Doto had broken through were greatly startled.
The immense Aura emanating from Meisho Doto made all the Uma Musume she passed turn pale with fright, their faces ashen.
This girl—they weren't at the same level at all!
"MEISHO DOTOOOOO!!! IT'S MEISHO DOTO!!!"
"Meisho Doto is catching up! Unbelievable! She has overtaken the Late Surger group from the outside!"
"She's starting her breakthrough! She has already passed three Uma Musume in one go!"
"!"
Immediately, the commentator's voice startled the five Uma Musume running at the very front.
They didn't even need to turn to look; just by feeling, they sensed Meisho Doto chasing them from behind like a mad beast.
Right now, she was like her name, attacking like a furious and overwhelming wave!
Whether it was the Uma Musume who had already been swallowed by the waves or those being chased.
They were all terrified and thrown into disarray by the power of this flood.
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The Doto in Meisho Doto's name roughly translates to raging/surging waves.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.