"How does Trainer know that?" Seiun Sky's head tilted, throwing him this questioning look.
"Because she wants to replicate the last Hanshin Daishoten and face off against Narita Brian again." Hayato's eyes narrowed slightly. "In other words, she only has Narita Brian as her opponent. She's not thinking about you or Sakura Laurel at all. And by the way, Narita Brian thinks the same way."
Right now, they'd finally found worthy opponents and couldn't wait to battle. As for the other uma musume running tomorrow... they didn't care at all.
That was what they were both thinking. It's not arrogance, but a habit acquired by winners or uma musume who believe in their strength. It's like in the previous G2 match, even Hayato never expected that an unknown Uma Musume would suddenly activate the zone during the race.
"So what'll happen?" Seiun Sky leaned forward, really wanting to ask who was stronger between them.
"They'll both lose their stamina and power."
"Eh?" Her ears shot straight up in surprise.
"That's why I'm saying your only real opponent is Sakura Laurel."
So, what if Mayano Top Gun was at her absolute peak? If she got careless, she'd still lose hard.
It wasn't that he was underestimating Mayano Top Gun and Narita Brian. On the contrary, he took them even more seriously than Sakura Laurel. Anything could happen in a race, he'd learned that the hard way.
Right now, Seiun Sky had what it took to beat both of them.
Seiun Sky
Mood: 90/100 Excellent
Speed: 553
Stamina: 520
Power: 236
Guts: 256
Wits: 360
Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt G
Distance Aptitude: Sprint G, Mile B, Middle A, Long A
Style Aptitude: Front Runner A, Pace-Chaser B, End-Closer D, Late-Surger E
Seiun Sky right now wasn't weaker than those two. Not anymore, and Sakura Laurel's current data painted a different picture:
Sakura Laurel
Mood: 86/100 Good
Speed: 476
Stamina: 428
Power: 345
Guts: 286
Wits: 319
Track Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt E
Distance Aptitude: Sprint G, Mile C, Middle A, Long A
Style Aptitude: Front Runner G, Pace-Chaser C, End-Closer A, Late-Surger B
Sakura Laurel herself was already crazy strong. In her past races, accidents happened way too frequently, and combined with injuries that kept piling up, she couldn't leave behind notable results.
But her true ability could definitely win a GI. No question. Because of her injuries, her skills were pretty unique, too. Skills that regular uma musume didn't have and couldn't learn through normal training.
Blossoming World: If you are in the middle of the pack during the middle of the race, your speed will slightly increase; in a long-distance race, this effect will last longer and stamina will greatly recover
Even with these insane skills in a long-distance race, she still can't beat Narita Brian's last acceleration. Unless Sakura Laurel activated her zone or some unseen skill Hayato didn't know about.
Compared to the zone, Hayato hoped she'd activate her unique skill instead. Not just because he was worried about her well-being, but also worried that if the zone was too strong, Seiun Sky would lose badly.
Even until now, I don't understand how they awaken the zone? Even King Halo said that she didn't know anything, she just suddenly felt her body filled with power.
Night fell over Kyoto.
The Kyoto Racecourse at night was completely quiet, almost eerily so.
Tomorrow, over a hundred thousand people will flood in here, filling every seat and corner. The most heated Tenno Sho Spring of the first half of the year would take place right on this track.
Narita Brian sat alone on a rooftop, casually chewing on a twig she'd picked up somewhere. She stared intently at the track below, as if watching the most intensely exciting race play out in her mind.
In her imagination, Uma Musume burst out of the gates like explosions, charging forward with everything they had, their eyes locked only on the finish line ahead.
Narita Brian pressed a hand to her chest, closed her eyes to feel it carefully, trying desperately to calm the fire burning inside her.
"Just from seeing the racetrack... Can't hold back anymore? I really miss running with all my might..." Narita Brian unconsciously stared at her legs.
"Don't worry. Tomorrow's the day. Tomorrow you can run to your heart's content. For now, just be patient... ah... hah..." Her face twisted into this beast-like expression, her breathing grew heavy and ragged, her blood boiling hot in her veins.
At this time, another uma musume carefully climbed up onto the roof, footsteps making soft "clack clack" sounds on the tiles. "Brian, I knew you'd be here."
Sakura Laurel appeared with a gentle smile, like they were old friends meeting for tea.
Narita Brian only glanced at her from the corner of her eye, not even turning her head. Was this the Uma Musume from today who said she'd definitely become my opponent?
"It's you?"
"Yep, it's me, Brian. Um..." Sakura Laurel looked around nervously, hands clasped together. "Is it okay if I sit here?"
She said that but had already seated herself right next to Narita Brian without waiting for an answer.
Seeing that Brian didn't say anything or shove her off, Sakura Laurel looked up at the night sky and started making conversation. "It's wonderful, isn't it, Brian? I'm finally getting to stand on the same track as you!"
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*As usual, the illustration is commented on.