El Condor Pasa's challenge in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe ended in failure.
In her post-race interview, Montjeu announced her decision to visit Japan, saying that she would participate in this year's Japan Cup.
The moment this news came out, the entire world was shaken.
Before today, the international consensus had been that Japan's racing scene was a weak circle, because Japanese umamusume had performed terribly in international races. Even the current queen of Japan's umamusume, Symboli Rudolf, was no exception. But in her interview, Montjeu said that she had previously underestimated the people of the world and believed that Japanese races were no longer at their former level. In today's Japan, there were opponents who could make her become serious.
After Montjeu's interview was broadcast, the small place called Japan immediately attracted the attention of the entire world.
Various countries began paying attention to Japan's development in recent years, and everyone noticed several runners. El Condor Pasa, second place in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, naturally needed no explanation. Meanwhile, King Halo and Silence Suzuka, who had defeated El Condor Pasa in the Japanese Derby and the Takarazuka Kinen several months earlier, also entered everyone's field of vision at this moment.
"Are these really Japan's umamusume?"
"Wait, with King Halo's background, why did she go study in Japan? Shouldn't she have come to train in America?"
"Silence Suzuka's running style is way too cool!"
"There's also Special Week. I noticed her. Special Week's talent is terrifying too. She only just transferred to Tracen Academy, and she's already racing at this level. Her talent doesn't lose to El Condor Pasa!"
"I never thought El Condor Pasa, this year's world number two, had actually lost before. And it doesn't look like she lost by accident."
"I know why Montjeu wants to challenge the Japan Cup. She must be aiming for Silence Suzuka and King Halo, right? After all, El Condor Pasa lost to them before. Even if Montjeu steps over El Condor Pasa and takes first, she might still feel she isn't the true world number one."
"Tickets! I'm buying tickets to Japan right now!"
Like gourmets who had discovered a delicacy, horse-racing fans from across the world began gathering toward Japan. Seeing this grand scene, the Japan Umamusume Committee felt both delighted and pained. The painful part was that the Japan Cup venue's market capacity was limited; they could not fully swallow this windfall from the heavens.
As for El Condor Pasa's follow-up payment, they paid it readily. Although El Condor Pasa had not taken the championship, without her performance at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Japan's umamusume industry absolutely could not have received worldwide attention like this. El Condor Pasa had made a great contribution. Besides, second place in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was already an extremely impressive result. Naturally, they could not cut ties with such a genius. Even if, according to the contract, they did not need to pay that follow-up reward now, they were still willing to pay in order to keep El Condor Pasa.
El Condor Pasa herself simply was not happy about it.
She had never cared much about such things to begin with. The greatest reason she had been willing to sign with Japan was that Japan had been willing to devote all its strength to sending her to the strongest stage in the world.
Japan's Umamusume Association had indeed fulfilled that promise.
But El Condor Pasa herself had lost on that stage. Second place was certainly strong. It meant second in the world. But if it was not first, it had no meaning, because first place was what she had aimed for.
After returning to Japan, El Condor Pasa's personality became much quieter.
And today was the day of the Kikka Sho.
El Condor Pasa came to the race venue.
Although her mood was poor, she still did not want to miss the chance to watch this race. She wanted to know how strong King Halo was now, and how much Special Week had improved over the past few months.
After checking the condition of her equipment in the waiting room, King Halo walked through the entrance tunnel toward the race venue. Special Week was waiting for her up ahead. Although King Halo did not care at all about Special Week's thoughts, when she saw the look in Special Week's eyes, she still chose to stop and listen to what Special Week had to say.
"King Halo, you're strong. You're the strongest umamusume I've ever met. Not even Suzuka is as strong as you. But today, I will absolutely defeat you in this race. My goal is to become Japan's number one umamusume. I can't afford to lose anymore!"
A purple-pink flame flashed through Special Week's eyes.
King Halo knew that Special Week had already mastered the power of ZONE. She was no longer merely awakening from time to time as before; she had truly entered an awakened state. Combined with the special training she had undergone during this period, Special Week's stats had nearly caught up to King Halo's. With that stat panel and the support of ZONE, King Halo could no longer treat Special Week as a newcomer with some potential.
The current Special Week was already qualified to be her opponent.
"Are you saying this will be your final race?" King Halo asked coldly.
Special Week nodded, then shook her head.
"I will treat this race as my final race!"
This was not her ending.
But she would race with the feeling that today was the end.
Because if she did not, she had no chance of winning.
Just as she had said, King Halo was the strongest umamusume she had ever seen. She did not know how strong the President truly was. Perhaps the President's strength was actually above King Halo's. But that had nothing to do with her. At least among all the opponents and friends she knew, King Halo was the strongest, without exception.
Whether it was El Condor Pasa, now second in the world, or Suzuka-san, whom she admired, neither matched King Halo in strength.
If Special Week wanted to defeat such a strongest opponent, she could no longer think of any other method.
She would treat this race as her last race. Everything she had learned, along with the potential inside her body that had not yet been fully developed, she would stake it all. Only then could she obtain the faintest chance of victory.
"I won't pity you."
"That's exactly how I want it, because I want to defeat you at full strength!"
Special Week spoke earnestly.
King Halo, who had been about to leave, stopped. She tilted her head and looked at Special Week with a puzzled gaze before asking in confusion, "Strange. When have you ever seen my full strength?"
"..."
Special Week froze.
She could tell that King Halo was telling the truth.
Although many people had already guessed as much, hearing it from King Halo's own mouth finally allowed Special Week to confirm that King Halo truly had never used her full strength in previous races. That was...
That was far too exciting.
The flame in Special Week's eyes burned fiercely.
"Then let me see it in this race!"
"That will depend on your effort."
King Halo spoke calmly. Her emotions did not grow excited during races. Now that she had already grasped the qualification to awaken ZONE at any time, she no longer needed to release her feelings. She could face any race with absolute calm. Therefore, how much strength she displayed would depend on how strong her opponent was. She would not waste even the slightest bit of power. She would win in the most perfect and rigorous way.
That was her racing philosophy.
As someone who was not a genius, she did not need any stray thoughts.
The outcome of a race was decided before it began. The strength she accumulated in ordinary times was what she relied on. She would never expect so-called miracles to descend, because in her races, she did not need any miracles.
What she desired was inevitable victory.
King Halo turned and walked toward the exit.
Special Week still needed to calm her emotions.
After King Halo entered the venue, a tremendous roar rose throughout the racecourse. After El Condor Pasa became second in the world, King Halo, who had defeated El Condor Pasa and had also defeated Silence Suzuka, gained a massive amount of fame and popularity. One could say that no one now questioned her strength. Before El Condor Pasa became second in the world, plenty of people online had believed King Halo's strength was not as great as it appeared, arguing that her strength, limited by her running style, was not enough to face international powerhouses. But now, those voices had fallen silent.
It was easy to understand.
After all, El Condor Pasa was now second in the world.
And King Halo had used that running style to defeat El Condor Pasa before. Unless El Condor Pasa completed her revenge, or King Halo performed terribly in a later race, King Halo's strength allowed no one to question her. To question her, one first had to question the weight of El Condor Pasa's title as world number two.
Foreign fans of Japan could perhaps do that.
But fans within Japan did not dare, because El Condor Pasa's second place in the world represented Japan's national face.
Of course, King Halo did not care about any of this. She had never cared about things like fame. From the moment she was born, she had clearly known what she wanted most and what her goal was. Because of that, she cared about nothing else. She simply chased that goal with all her heart.
Standing before the gate, the [force] around King Halo had been restrained to the point where even someone standing beside her could not detect it. Only by looking directly into her eyes could one sense that presence, so powerful it seemed invisible. Her eyes glowed faintly. A crimson arc in her pupils radiated dim light, silently collecting information from the venue.
Each runner's physical stats and preferred running style were seen through by her eyes. Then, through countless pieces of data, she simulated and analyzed them, finally calculating every answer. In this way, she foresaw the future of the race and found her own formula for victory. Her probability of winning was one hundred percent.
"We are now at Kyoto for the GI Kikka Sho. This is a 3,000-meter long-distance race that tests the strength of every participant. It would not be an exaggeration to call it the most difficult of the Classic races. This race is also the final race of the Classic Triple Crown. Which runner will receive this final glory? Let us look at today's popular entrants."
As the commentator spoke, the cameras instantly turned toward one of the runners. Seiun Sky, wearing a lazy expression, immediately appeared on the large screen at the venue. The moment she was filmed, Seiun Sky looked helplessly toward the screen and patted her cheeks with both hands.
"Third favorite, number seven, Seiun Sky. She has shown fine strength in previous races and is a runner whose results have been somewhat regrettable. We look forward to her performance today!"
Because Seiun Sky's race route had collided with King Halo's, she had not won a single GI race so far. But her performances in races truly had been impressive, and fans had noticed her. In particular, after her family background became known and people learned that she was an ordinary umamusume without any prestigious lineage, her popularity votes rose sharply.
Seiun Sky did not know how to evaluate that.
Compared with popularity votes, she wanted to win a race.
At this moment, she was thinking about her Trainer's advice.
"Do I really have to find a way to avoid Halo-chan's races after this? I can understand that it's the best decision, but if possible, I really want to beat Halo-chan once."
Thinking that, Seiun Sky decided to gamble everything in this race. Perhaps this would be her final race against Halo-chan. If she did not give it everything she had, she would definitely regret it.
After Seiun Sky's introduction, the camera turned to Special Week.
"Second favorite, number four, Special Week. Carrying the dream of becoming number one in Japan, she came from her hometown to Central. Over this year's races, she has grown from immaturity at the beginning to where she stands now. Perhaps she still has a long way to go before becoming Japan's number one, but surely no one now laughs at her dream, because she has already proven herself through her previous races. Today, on this stage, we hope she can take another step toward that dream!"
Although Special Week still had a long way to go before becoming number one in Japan, no one underestimated her anymore. Her results might not look particularly beautiful, but this year's races were much stronger than in past years. If Special Week's strength had been placed in an earlier era, she could have easily won the Classic Triple Crown. This year's umamusume were simply too strong. Under these circumstances, no one could say Special Week was weak.
Because this one was here.
At that moment, the camera turned to that figure.
The commentator spoke solemnly as well. "The favorite, number one, King Halo. The undefeated queen. Can she continue to maintain her record today? Can she achieve the great feat of an undefeated Triple Crown? This is what everyone is hoping for, myself included. She is the umamusume everyone favors most. We hope she can fulfill our long-cherished wish in this race and create a historic achievement!"
A roar on a completely different scale from before rang out from the spectator stands. At this moment, all of Japan, even the entire world, was watching this race.
"All right, preparation time is about to end. Staff on-site, please leave the field. Let us quietly await the start of the race!"
"All runners have entered the gates."
"Countdown begins!"
Along with the countdown on the large screen, the signal lights above the gates flickered. The instant the countdown reached zero, the gates sprang open with a gust of wind, and the participating umamusume rushed onto the turf. At that moment, the race officially began.
...
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