Chapter 139. The Grand Finale of the Big Match—Arima Kinen
Tokai Teio accelerated using the downhill section, overtook Fujiyama Kenzan in one move, and then cut back to a position close to the rail.
Overall, Tokai Teio was running at her own pace.
"Teio completed that whole sequence effortlessly by using the outward pull of the curve," Shuta An muttered to himself.
"Twin Turbo looks like she can't hold on any longer," Tojo Hana added.
"She did very well to make it this far," Minamisaka said, clearly satisfied with Twin Turbo's performance.
As Tojo Hana said, Twin Turbo, who had been leading the entire way, began to decelerate sharply, and her speed dropped quickly. The Uma Musume behind her easily overtook her.
"PREKRASNIE HAS PASSED TWIN TURBO AND IS NOW AT THE FRONT! CAN THE TENNO SHO (AUTUMN) WINNER CLAIM A SECOND G1 VICTORY TODAY?" the live commentator shouted, and Daitaku Helios also passed Twin Turbo.
"I originally planned to run as a senko, but the gate draw was too good, so I just kept moving forward," Daitaku Helios thought, feeling that her stamina was not especially abundant. She could not help remembering the start of the race.
"I'm really used to bursting out at the very front with Palmer. Next year, I have to come to the Arima Kinen with Palmer," she thought.
Mejiro McQueen noticed Tokai Teio's early acceleration but did not panic. Since Twin Turbo was still leading at the front, and based on her own sense of the race, she felt this race was better suited to a late-charging strategy.
"Teio accelerated so early..."
Mejiro McQueen frowned and muttered to herself,
"That mightn't a good choice."
Normally, Mejiro McQueen's race position would be farther forward than Tokai Teio's. In fact, in many of her dreams over the past few years, whenever she competed on the same stage as Tokai Teio, she had always been ahead at the decisive moment, fending off Tokai Teio's late charge.
But in real life, when she faced Tokai Teio, the positions of the two Uma Musume were reversed.
"Can I catch her?"
Mejiro McQueen hesitated slightly.
Dai Yuusaku, who was following closely behind Mejiro McQueen, was completely focused now. From the day she decided to enter the Arima Kinen, she had been waiting for this race.
This was not her first G1 challenge. She had previously run in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and the Mile Championship, but had not even made the top three. Among this year's Arima Kinen field, Dai Yuusaku was also an unknown.
No one expected her to win except her Trainer and her family.
Dai Yuusaku understood that, and she accepted it.
But she was still an Uma Musume; how could she not have a fighting spirit?
"Everyone is strong, but I also want to receive applause from all the spectators! I also want to make Grandpa smile the brightest smile! I also want to become a glorious G1-winning Uma Musume!"
Dai Yuusaku was confident that her determination to win was no weaker than anyone else's.
And in this race, although Tokai Teio was the strongest, the early development still left Mejiro McQueen as her main target.
Now, having watched Mejiro McQueen all race, she saw Mejiro McQueen preparing to sprint, and realized that the moment she had been waiting for had arrived.
"I want to give Grandpa a surprise, and now is the best time. My talent isn't as good as theirs, so I need to be even more careful with the details."
Normally, an Uma Musume who did not want to be boxed in would choose to burst from the outside when unleashing her sprint. But Dai Yuusaku knew she did not have that luxury.
After all, being positioned behind Mejiro McQueen, bursting from the outside would cost her more energy than it would cost Mejiro McQueen. So she really only had one choice.
Taking advantage of the moment before Mejiro McQueen had fully committed, Dai Yuusaku veered inward several steps. But because her body control was not especially refined, she could not immediately overtake Mejiro McQueen from the inside and had to regain her stride in the short stretch after the bend.
Mejiro McQueen, hearing the footsteps behind her grow more frantic, knew she could no longer hesitate.
The final straight was only 310 meters long, and it was not a place for Mejiro McQueen, who was still in the latter half of the pack, to conserve energy and wait for another opportunity.
"Accelerate, charge forward!"
After flipping the sprint switch in her mind, Mejiro McQueen fully unleashed her momentum, tilted her center of gravity forward, stretched out her legs, and suddenly increased her speed.
In just a few strides, she moved into fifth place, with Twin Turbo already left behind.
"THE ACCELERATION FEELS GREAT!"
Nishizaki Ryu became excited.
"GO, MCQUEEN!"
At the same time, Tojo Hana stared intently at Air Groove, who was also beginning to sprint from behind.
"Come on, catch up!"
Minamisaka did not speak, but he gripped the railing tightly. Nice Nature had also begun her sprint at that moment, but because other Uma Musume were blocking her on the outside, the big screen could not clearly show her exact position. It only showed that Nice Nature was indeed sprinting.
Nishizaki Ryu felt that Mejiro McQueen's acceleration response was very good, and Mejiro McQueen herself felt the same.
"If I respond like this, I can definitely catch up to Teio!"
After fully assessing her sprint speed and stamina, Mejiro McQueen was quite confident.
But in the next second, footsteps with a faster rhythm than hers came from her right rear.
No, those were not footsteps; they were the sound of judgment.
Shuta An's gaze shifted from Tokai Teio to Dai Yuusaku.
"A Zone—but not fully complete?" he murmured.
"Hmm?" the other Trainers asked, not hearing clearly.
"Nothing."
Shuta An shook his head, but he was still watching Dai Yuusaku.
Unlike Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio, who chose to launch a grand outside attack from the outer side of the pack, Dai Yuusaku chose to stay close to the rail and launched a powerful, unstoppable charge.
By saving ground compared with Mejiro McQueen, and now showing explosive power no weaker than hers, Dai Yuusaku had already caught up to Mejiro McQueen with 250 meters left to run.
"!"
Nishizaki Ryu stiffened.
Tojo Hana, noticing Air Groove and the others gradually being left behind by Dai Yuusaku, also frowned.
Minamisaka, still gripping the railing, trembled with tension. His psychological pressure was obvious in every movement as he stared intently at Nice Nature.
At that moment, Shuta An's gaze returned to Tokai Teio.
"Facing an opponent who is putting on a once-in-a-lifetime performance, Teio, what answer will you give?"
The Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume on the track could not hear that question, but she would answer it through her actual performance.
Nakayama Racecourse, the final 250 meters.
The finale of this year's Japanese Twinkle Series would be decided here.
Would the Undefeated Triple Crown have the last laugh?
Would it be the famous Uma Musume of the Mejiro family?
Would it be the two-time Queen seeking revenge?
Would it be a reluctant supporting role?
Or would it be an unknown runner burning everything she had?
Before the race, no one would have thought Dai Yuusaku had a chance to fight for victory. Very few people had chosen her in the fan poll, and some of the spectators who voted for her had done so only casually.
But now that the race had unfolded this far, anyone who understood the competition could see that only Tokai Teio and Dai Yuusaku were truly qualified to contend for Arima Kinen victory.
That was not because Dai Yuusaku looked down on Mejiro McQueen, Nice Nature, or Air Groove.
It was because Dai Yuusaku had produced a shocking final burst, overtaking Mejiro McQueen and then gradually widening the gap between herself and Nice Nature and Air Groove.
While Dai Yuusaku was sprinting with everything she had, Tokai Teio also passed Prekrasnie and took the lead.
At that point, Tokai Teio was 200 meters from the finish line.
"I will keep this position until the end!"
Tokai Teio vowed with complete confidence.
She was not Twin Turbo or Prekrasnie. Ever since her debut, whenever Tokai Teio reached the front of the pack, no opponent had ever managed to take first place away from her.
Of course, Tokai Teio did not relax because of that.
"I told my Trainer that I would win by at least three lengths!"
Because of that promise, Tokai Teio did not think about slowing down or conserving energy. Instead, she maintained a high-speed sprint, as if she intended to turn the race into her solo performance.
But no one would believe the other 15 Uma Musume would simply give up.
Although most of the runners in the lead group had begun to slow down aside from Tokai Teio, the few runners still fighting from behind were sprinting hard.
Whether it was Mejiro McQueen, Nice Nature, Air Groove, or Dai Yuusaku, they were all doing everything they could to catch Tokai Teio at the front.
"NO ONE IS GOING TO STOP ME TODAY!"
Dai Yuusaku's fighting spirit surged even higher.
Looking at the only opponent still in sight, she had forgotten all about Tokai Teio's honors. At this moment, the Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume was simply an obstacle in Dai Yuusaku's eyes, standing between her and the goddess of victory.
Dai Yuusaku kept staring at Tokai Teio and entered an almost trance-like state.
After running at full speed for so long, she could feel a burning sensation in her legs.
"It's like magma erupting from a volcano..."
If she had the leisure to describe it, that was what Dai Yuusaku would have said.
Without overthinking what that sensation meant, Dai Yuusaku instinctively released it.
The next moment, the world before her eyes changed drastically.
What appeared in her vision was not Nakayama Racecourse, nor Tokai Teio's back, but the small track in her familiar home garden—her favorite place as a child.
Ninety-nine percent of Uma Musume who became Uma Musume had been sprint prodigies as children.
Dai Yuusaku was no exception.
But after entering Central Tracen Academy, she realized that in this special world, she was actually just an ordinary one.
And since enrolling, the increasingly discouraged Dai Yuusaku had not gone home for a long time.
She looked around and cried out in alarm.
"Why am I here?! I'm in a race! Let me go back! I haven't caught up to all my opponents yet!!"
As soon as her voice fell, the track before her shattered abruptly, turning into countless iron-red fragments swirling around her.
"What is this—?"
Dai Yuusaku thought it was all an illusion, that she was seeing things because she had pushed herself too hard in a desperate sprint.
But she could feel that she could still run even faster.
"I don't care if this is an illusion or not!"
She clenched her teeth.
"EVEN IF IT'S JUST AN ILLUSION, I CAN ACCELERATE RIGHT NOW!"
"GO! GO! GO!"
She leaned her body even further forward, and her speed rose again.
Mejiro McQueen watched Dai Yuusaku gradually widen the gap between them and noticed that her speed had increased once more.
"What is this?"
She could not understand it at all.
Compared with Tokai Teio, who had once impressed her in training, Dai Yuusaku had been no threat in Mejiro McQueen's eyes before the race.
But now, the sprinting speed Dai Yuusaku was showing filled Mejiro McQueen with confusion.
Looking at Dai Yuusaku's past results, it was clear she had never produced a performance like this before. Mejiro McQueen completely could not understand how things had developed into this.
"I want to defeat Tokai Teio. How can I be left behind by another Uma Musume here!"
As the Kikuka Sho and Spring Tenno Sho winner, Mejiro McQueen naturally had her pride.
Even though Dai Yuusaku's speed shocked her, Mejiro McQueen would not give up.
She pushed herself toward her limit, trying to close the gap with Dai Yuusaku—
"Closer and closer!"
With 150 meters left, Dai Yuusaku's earlier burst had successfully closed the gap to Tokai Teio, and that result made her even more excited.
But on the sidelines, Shuta An remained calm.
Tojo Hana and the others glanced at him and found that he was not nervous at all.
And this was not forced composure. Shuta An truly was not shaken by Dai Yuusaku's performance of gaining two lengths in just dozens of meters.
"Shuta An is really too calm..."
Fumino Nase, not far away, also noticed his demeanor. After she understood why he was not worried, she could not help muttering to herself.
The reason he was not anxious was simple:
Dai Yuusaku had been running on the flat section just now, while Tokai Teio had stepped onto Nakayama's final slope, so the gap would naturally have narrowed significantly. Any normal Trainer would understand that if they thought about it calmly.
The big screen showed a close-up of Tokai Teio.
The stands erupted.
"Eh?!"
To the surprise of most people, Tokai Teio's expression did not crumble. Instead, her face was taut, calm, and composed. It was as if she did not feel the pressure from the runner behind her at all.
With the race this intense and Dai Yuusaku constantly closing in, Tokai Teio's expression seemed highly unusual.
"Teio-senpai, don't relax!"
Kurofune cried out.
She thought her senior had already assumed victory was in hand and was completely ignoring Dai Yuusaku, whom no one had paid attention to before the race.
"No, she just believes she can win."
Admire Vega denied Kurofune's guess.
"Ah?"
Kurofune froze, not knowing what to say.
Admire Vega's view was always different from hers, making her hard to understand. This time was no different. Without her Trainer there to explain things, Kurofune could only keep her confusion to herself—
Just as Dai Yuusaku narrowed the gap to Tokai Teio to only one length, Tokai Teio was already 100 meters from the finish line.
Based on the previous pursuit speed, Dai Yuusaku should have won by one length.
Dai Yuusaku thought so, and many Trainers and Uma Musume on the sidelines thought so too.
Everyone felt they were about to witness a huge upset: an Uma Musume who had only won G3 races before was about to defeat an Undefeated Triple Crown winner, a two-time Queen's Cup winner, and the Kikuka Sho Uma Musume in the year's biggest race.
No matter how one looked at it, that was explosive news.
But the next second, gasps erupted in the VIP area.
"What's going on?"
"What happened?"
"This?!"
The "culprit" behind those cries was none other than Tokai Teio.
After crossing Nakayama's famous slope, Tokai Teio leaned even farther forward, and her speed exploded instantly.
The lengths Dai Yuusaku had painstakingly erased earlier were regained by Tokai Teio in just a few strides.
"What is this?!"
Nishizaki Ryu clutched his head.
The burst of power Tokai Teio showed in those few seconds exceeded his imagination.
Like an arrow shot from a bow, Tokai Teio pierced through the air resistance and even stirred up a storm along the sidelines.
Shuta An also grew excited at this point—not because Tokai Teio had widened the gap, but because of something else.
"Teio hasn't even touched the Zone yet."
He was absolutely certain of that.
He could not feel the aura that Oguri Cap, Silence Suzuka, and Mejiro Dober had when they entered the Zone from Tokai Teio at this moment.
On the commentary stand, the live commentator, watching Tokai Teio and Dai Yuusaku chase each other, no longer paid attention to Mejiro McQueen, Nice Nature, and Air Groove behind them.
His gaze kept shifting between Tokai Teio and Dai Yuusaku as he reported the race:
"TOKAI TEIO HAS ACCELERATED AGAIN!"
"DAI YUUSAKU HASN'T GIVEN UP YET!"
When Tokai Teio was only 20 meters from the finish line, the commentator's heart finally settled.
Tokai Teio, still holding a two-length lead over Dai Yuusaku behind her, had victory in her grasp.
So he shouted,
"AT NAKAYAMA RACECOURSE AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THE DIGNITY OF THE UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN CANNOT BE CHALLENGED! THE NEW UNDEFEATED TRIPLE CROWN AFTER SYMBOLI RUDOLF HAS PROVEN IT ONCE AGAIN! TOKAI TEIO! CATCH UP TO THE VOICE YOU ADMIRE, AND THEN SURPASS HER!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tokai Teio lunged forward.
She could not tell exactly how far she was ahead of Dai Yuusaku. She only knew that doing this would let her cross the finish line earlier.
After crossing the finish line, Tokai Teio, without time to confirm the margin, turned her head to the left.
Dai Yuusaku, with lifeless eyes, rushed past her side.
"I won?!"
Tokai Teio confirmed it, then gradually relaxed and slowed down.
After coming to a complete stop, the Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume showed a strained, not-quite-pleasant smile.
She had not felt anything while running, but now it seemed as if her legs no longer belonged to her, and even her feet felt as though they had been reattached.
Still, she felt it was all worth it.
She had secured her fifth G1 victory.
"Only two more to catch up to Kaichou!"