BanUma 101-130 (Patreon)

Chapter 101: Running Very Fast, GG“Heh, a trainer?”Golden Crown Eagle scoffed. “Your trainer has no experience cultivating a Zone Umamusume, does she? How could she possibly know the power of a Zone Umamusume?”“Besides, even if she knew the power of a Zone Umamusume, would she know how to help you break through to the Zone level?”“Our Trainer certainly knows,” Tokai Teio said.“That’s right,” Mejiro McQueen nodded in agreement. “And she doesn’t necessarily believe that an Umamusume without a Zone is weaker than one with one.”“Then it seems necessary to let you know the power of Zones.” Golden Crown Eagle chuckled, tossing a coin in her hand, and smiled at Mejiro McQueen."Shall we have a race? The strongest long-distance Umamusume in Active Duty, the young lady of the Mejiro family—surely she wouldn't refuse a challenge, would she?""I'm ready to go at anytime!"Mejiro McQueen stared intently at Golden Crown Eagle, her face showing no panic or fear."Fine, I'm magnanimous. Even if you lose, I won't mind teaching you how to unlock your Zone.""No need. I don't want to know." Mejiro McQueen extended her hand in refusal."Speaking of which, you seem determined to teach others about Zones..." Tokai Teio said softly. Then her eyes suddenly narrowed."Could it be that you taught Rice Shower-sab about higher-level Zones?"Golden Crown Eagle was startled upon hearing this. "How does she know?!"Just as Golden Crown Eagle was about to nod in agreement, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.Golden Crown Eagle turned around and saw the robotic Mihono Bourbon, and beside her, Sakura Baimu, with her black hair and casual suit.Golden Crown Eagle's eyes narrowed upon seeing Sakura Baimu, her heart skipping a beat.So similar!Far too similar!Sakura Baimu looked exactly like the Umamusume, her opponent from last night."Could it be...?"Just as Golden Crown Eagle was filled with doubt, she heard Sakura Baimu look her up and down with the surprised gaze of someone seeing her for the first time, then ask curiously."And who is this young lady?""I don't know her. She came over to teach McQueen and me how to activate our Zones," Tokai Teio replied.Golden Crown Eagle looked at Sakura Baimu's genuine expression and her inquiring question.Then her gaze shifted to the top of Sakura Baimu's head and the back of her waist."No tail or ears, and her hair is black."These characteristics easily indicated that the other person was not an Umamusume, but a human."She does look somewhat like one..."Golden Crown Eagle was puzzled, but ultimately could only attribute it all to coincidence."I just saw that Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen haven't mastered their Zones yet, so I wanted to come and help them," Golden Crown Eagle said with a friendly smile to Sakura Baimu.Beside Sakura Baimu, Mihono Bourbon stared at Golden Crown Eagle for a moment, then leaned close to Sakura Baimu's ear and whispered."I can sense that her Zone is incredibly powerful, even more powerful than Rice Shower's."Sakura Baimu already knew this. She nodded slightly and replied with a smile,"Thank you for your kindness, Miss, but that's unnecessary."Clearly, Sakura Baimu's refusal did not deter Golden Crown Eagle's ambitions.Having witnessed the strength of Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen, she felt it necessary to hinder their breakthrough in their Zones. So she chuckled at Sakura Baimu."If your trainee Umamusume were to volunteer to learn from me, that wouldn't be your problem, would it?""Of course, it's their prerogative to do what they want," Sakura Baimu replied with a similar chuckle. "However, I don't think they'd want to learn from you.""That's because they haven't yet witnessed the power of a Zone."Golden Crown Eagle sneered, then continued."I want to compete against Mejiro McQueen, and she's agreed.""That's wonderful. I'd be happy to oblige too," Sakura Baimu smiled.Seeing Sakura Baimu's ecstatic expression, Golden Crown Eagle felt increasingly convinced that this trainer was a fool.And it wasn't just Sakura Baimu.All the Umamusumes under her command seemed rather dim-witted.Having won against an Umamusume by sheer luck, they considered themselves invincible.They lacked the urgent need to unlock their own Zones that the American Umamusumes possessed.Golden Crown Eagle didn't want to waste any more words. She believed the match result would change Mejiro McQueen's mind, so she left TCB.The TCB Umamusumes watched coldly as Golden Crown Eagle departed."Trainer-san! I suspect she's the one who taught Rice Shower about higher-level Zones!" Tokai Teio spoke."What?!"Mihono Bourbon had already suspected something, and hearing Tokai Teio say this, she couldn't help but feel shocked.“I’ll ask Rice Shower tonight, then I’ll know,” Sakura Baimu waved her hand. “McQueen, good luck with your preparations. You have another match later. She’s the strongest American Active Umamusume and not on the same level as Cattleya.”“She’s currently maintaining her winning streak in bounty matches; she’s an exceptionally strong Umamusume.”“I’ll give it my all,” Mejiro McQueen nodded emphatically.Mihono Bourbon watched for a while, mentally calculating that her rest time was over and she should go back to Kuronuma to continue training.Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something and turned to Smart Falcon.“I watched your match. You run really fast, GG.”Mihono Bourbon finished speaking and left expressionlessly.Hearing Mihono Bourbon’s words, Smart Falcon was struck dumb.How did even Mihono Bourbon know that nickname?!Smart Falcon immediately realized what was going on, puffing out her cheeks and glaring angrily at Sakura Baimu.Sakura Baimu, meanwhile, wore an expression of suppressed laughter and silently looked away.However, Sakura Baimu didn't hold it in for long before finally bursting into laughter.“Hahahaha, GG, don’t you think it’s especially funny when Bourbon calls you GG in that robotic, serious tone? Hahahaha…”Sakura Baimu’s mood instantly went from Good to Great.Smart Falcon, on the other hand, plummeted from Good to Awful.“Seriously, seriously! It's Falco, Falco told you not to call Falco that! Now even Miss Bourbon remembers it—what is Falco supposed to do?!”Smart Falcon stomped her foot angrily, white steam rising from her head.She felt that staying next to Sakura Baimu was going to drive her crazy sooner or later.--Just as the TCB members were laughing uncontrollably at Smart Falcon’s sullen expression, they finally heard Sakura Bakushin O’s voice coming from the radio again."Wow! Another American Umamusume has emerged to challenge Mejiro McQueen!""The next match features the strongest long-distance Umamusume—Mejiro McQueen—against the strongest US active-duty Umamusume—Golden Crown Eagle!"---Chapter 102: Strongest vs. StrongestUpon hearing Sakura Bakushin O's words, many Umamusumes in Tracen Academy gasped in unison.Mejiro McQueen is going again?!And this time, it's a showdown against the strongest active Umamusume in the US?!The strongest vs. the strongest!Just thinking about it was enough to get their blood pumping.Although Mejiro McQueen lost to Rice Shower in the middle-distance Takarazuka Kinen race, and her title as the strongest active-duty Umamusume was taken away, her title as the strongest long-distance active-duty Umamusume remains unchallenged.With Rice Shower injured and hospitalized, only Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen remain as the Umamusumes capable of carrying the torch for Tracen Academy.Everyone was quite curious about the outcome of the final showdown between these two top active-duty fighters.Sakura Baimu gave Mejiro McQueen a stamina-restoring nutrient solution and then re-enhanced her horseshoes.Enhanced horseshoes increase post-race benefits, meaning she becomes stronger as the race progresses.After having her horseshoes reinstalled, Mejiro McQueen walked onto the track, maintaining her aloof and elegant demeanor as she stood at the starting line.Once Mejiro McQueen entered the arena, Tokai Teio spoke with some concern."Trainer-san, that Golden Crown Eagle seems to have mastered a higher level of skill. McQueen might not be able to beat her.""Yes, I know," Sakura Baimu nodded."Huh?!?!"Smart Falcon, Kitasan Black, and the others exclaimed in unison upon hearing Sakura Baimu directly acknowledge that Mejiro McQueen was no match for Golden Crown Eagle."Trainer-san, since you knew Miss McQueen couldn't win, why did you let her accept the challenge?" Satono Diamond asked with some concern."Losing isn't terrible. The fastest way to improve is to compete against a powerful opponent. Golden Crown Eagle is the strongest opponent McQueen has ever faced. Even if she loses against her, she'll gain a lot."Sakura Baimu explained softly, adding that the effect of the reinforced horseshoes would truly make things twice as effective."Actually, there's another important reason I had McQueen compete: Golden Crown Eagle will most likely participate in the Japan Cup this November.""For Golden Crown Eagle, McQueen might be an easy opponent to defeat using her Zone. But for McQueen, this is a good opportunity to get to know her opponent in advance. If she wants to surpass Golden Crown Eagle before November, she needs a some edge.""I see."Tokai Teio nodded. She was last year's Japan Cup winner and wouldn't be participating this year."Teio, don't slack off either. I want you to participate in an international competition in November.""Huh? Why so suddenly?!" Tokai Teio suddenly shuddered."Heh, Umamusumes from America want to come to Japan to show off, so we have to go and get our revenge there, don't we?" Sakura Baimu laughed.Upon hearing Sakura Baimu's words, the TCB members exchanged glances."As expected, Trainer-san is angry because of Rice Shower and the others..."--"This time, Mejiro McQueen and Golden Crown Eagle will be racing on the 2400 Meter Turf track!""Both runners have entered the gates.""The strongest vs. the strongest.""Who will ultimately win? Let's wait and see!"Sakura Bakushin O, sitting in the commentary booth, shouted into the microphone.As expected of the grade leader of Tracen Academy, her booming voice easily aroused the anticipation of the Umamusumes present.This race was arguably the one with the largest audience since Pluto Academy joined Tracen Academy.On one side of the arena, Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky, still intently watching the Umamusumes in the arena, remained together, discussing the upcoming competition."Another 2400m Turf match, huh? Looks like this Golden Crown Eagle is preparing for this year's Japan Cup," Maruzensky remarked, squinting at the blonde American Umamusume through the gates.“If she uses her full power, McQueen can't beat her. Trainer Sakura must have realized this already, so it seems she's deliberately letting McQueen gain experience,” Symboli Rudolf said.Inside the gate, Golden Crown Eagle glanced sideways at Mejiro McQueen, who was staring straight ahead, and chuckled before looking away.Standing in this spot, she couldn't help but recall last night's events.Last night, she started here and lost to Sakura Baimu.“I won't allow that to happen again. I want everyone to know that at this 2400m distance, I am the strongest!”Golden Crown Eagle clenched her fist tightly, her eyes turning cold.The memory of being defeated by an Umamusume last night was still vivid. Now that she had defeated Mejiro McQueen, she could finally vent her frustration.Once Mejiro McQueen experiences the power of the Zone, she can then conveniently teach her how to break through it—a win-win situation.Thinking this, Golden Crown Eagle's mood improved slightly. A faint smile played on her lips as she assumed a ready stance."The match begins!"The gate sprang open, and Golden Crown Eagle and Mejiro McQueen charged forward simultaneously.This time, Golden Crown Eagle held back slightly.After all, in her view, the gap between her and Mejiro McQueen was too great, and Mejiro McQueen had just finished a race, so her stamina was undoubtedly not yet fully recovered.Her goal was last night's "warehouse," so there was no need to reveal her full strength here.Golden Crown Eagle had the idea of holding back, but Mejiro McQueen was different.She always gave it her all.Thanks to the pre-race nutritional supplement Sakura Baimu gave her, Mejiro McQueen's stamina had already returned to her normal pre-competition level.She still ran and lead in the frontlines, but she had already pulled ahead of Golden Crown Eagle in the early stages of the race."Sure enough, Mejiro McQueen has chosen a leading running style again!""Mejiro McQueen has already established a lead of about 5 lengths over Golden Crown Eagle in the early stages!""Golden Crown Eagle truly lives up to her reputation as the strongest current active Umamusume in American. Facing Mejiro McQueen's speed, she showed no signs of surprise, remaining extremely confident."Golden Crown Eagle hadn't thought much of it when she first watched.But now, having actually experienced Mejiro McQueen's leading speed, she was slightly surprised."She's still using the same Front Running speed as last round. Isn't she worried about running out of stamina later? After two rounds in a row, she should be feeling fatigued by now, right?"---Chapter 103: I've Caught Up with You, Mejiro McQueenGolden Crown Eagle was only slightly surprised, but not overly concerned.She was used to following Umamusume who raced with their own pace; no matter how fast Mejiro McQueen ran, she would always catch up.Because it was a 1v1 race, the positions in the opening and middle stages remained largely unchanged.Mejiro McQueen quickly completed the second and third turns at an astonishing pace.She reached the straight before the "heart-stopping" steep climb.Golden Crown Eagle stayed about five lengths behind Mejiro McQueen without showing any signs of discomfort; her stamina remained high."The battle remains unchanged; Mejiro McQueen maintains her leading advantage.""Golden Crown Eagle is also closely following Mejiro McQueen, not letting her outpace.""While the battle remains relatively unchanged, the running styles of these two top-tier active-duty Umamusume are truly a sight to behold.""Mejiro McQueen has reached the steep incline first!""A heart-stopping steep incline; anyone would slow down here..."Golden Crown Eagle thought to herself when suddenly she saw Mejiro McQueen climbing the incline without slowing down at all.Her eyes narrowed; she suddenly realized something was wrong."She hasn't slowed down?!"Last night, when she was running with Sakura Baimu, she hadn't noticed that Sakura Baimu's climbing posture was the same as Mejiro McQueen's because she was ahead of her.Otherwise, Golden Crown Eagle's shock would have been even greater.Golden Crown Eagle experienced a slight slowdown on the climb, and her heart was under considerable strain.However, she didn't care.This obstacle was negligible for an Umamusume of her caliber."Mejiro McQueen has gained an advantage on the climb and is now about seven lengths ahead of Golden Crown Eagle.""Mejiro McQueen has reached the third corner first and is heading towards the final corner.""Mejiro McQueen's burst of speed... is at the final corner..."Golden Crown Eagle's lips curled into a slight smile as she recalled the information she'd heard from Obey Your Master about Mejiro McQueen.Far from nervousness, she felt a surge of anticipation for Mejiro McQueen's burst of speed."Here it comes! Mejiro McQueen has stepped onto the final straight! Explosion☆ begins!"Mejiro McQueen's final-corner burst always generated excitement.As soon as she stepped onto the final straight, it was as if she had seamlessly switched modes, her speed increasing dramatically.A thin stream of white air flowed from Mejiro McQueen's body to her ponytail; at that moment, she unleashed the same speed she had during Abyss's Umamusume race."Eight lengths! Nine lengths! Ten lengths! A huge gap!""Mejiro McQueen has pulled far ahead of Golden Crown Eagle behind her!!"Golden Crown Eagle, seeing Mejiro McQueen accelerate, also quickened her pace.Her acceleration also created air currents, and her speed was already quite impressive."Golden Crown Eagle is accelerating too!""But she doesn't seem to be able to close the gap with Mejiro McQueen! Mejiro McQueen is still a step ahead!""Wow!!!"Many Umamusume from Tracen Academy cheered at this moment.However, the faces of a few people in the arena remained unchanged.They didn't show the slightest relaxation despite Mejiro McQueen's acceleration.Because they knew that the strongest active-duty Umamusume from Pluto Academy hadn't yet unleashed her true power."Tsk."Golden Crown Eagle listened to the cheers around her, a disdainful sneer playing on her lips.Without relying on her Zone's acceleration, her speed was indeed inferior to Mejiro McQueen's.Golden Crown Eagle's eyes gradually turned cold; this disparity in raw strength made her quite displeased."Not only that one from last night, but this Mejiro McQueen, and that Tokai Teio... they all possess the strength to defeat even the lowest-level Zones with sheer raw power..."The harsh reality fueled Golden Crown Eagle's growing anger. She quickened her pace, calculating the distance and time in her mind."Let them be smug for another ten seconds; let's see if they can still laugh then!""Mejiro McQueen has now pulled ahead of Golden Crown Eagle by more than 10 lengths, amazing!""She's already on the final straight's turf, heading straight for the finish line!""McQueen!!! Go!!!"On the sidelines, several Umamusume from TCB were cheering Mejiro McQueen on.Their trainer, Sakura Baimu, stood there with her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on Golden Crown Eagle behind Mejiro McQueen."1...""0!"Golden Crown Eagle's countdown reached zero. Her previously downturned lips instantly stretched into an almost ear-to-ear grin, and a dark green flame ignited in her pupils. Her icy aura transformed into the blazing heat of the sun.Maruzensky and Symboli Rudolf's hearts sank the moment they saw Golden Crown Eagle's utterly grotesque expression."Here she comes!"At the same moment Symboli Rudolf spoke, the Umamusume in the stands closest to Golden Crown Eagle heard a loud "thud!"Then they saw Golden Crown Eagle, who had been lagging behind Mejiro McQueen, suddenly surge forward like a cannonball, charging towards Mejiro McQueen with terrifying ferocity.The turf track she had just traversed before her outburst left two deep craters the size of footballs."Mejiro McQueen, 400 meters passed... Ah!!"Sakura Bakushin O suddenly roared, jumping up from her seat in shock."Golden Crown Eagle is accelerating again! What speed is this?! What speed is this?!""Golden Crown Eagle is closing the gap with Mejiro McQueen at an astonishing speed!""The lead is being closed! Only 10 lengths... no, 9!""8 lengths, 7 lengths!""The distance is still shrinking!!"At this moment, the Umamusume who were cheering for Mejiro McQueen were like chicks with their throats choked, unable to utter a sound.What speed is this?!It was infinitely faster than Tokai Teio's acceleration."Four lengths, three lengths, two lengths!""One length!""What... what is this?! This is the first time I've ever felt this kind of power...!"Mejiro McQueen was drenched in sweat. The feeling Golden Crown Eagle gave her was even more terrifying than Rice Shower at Takarazuka Kinen."It's like a cheetah about to pounce on its prey..."Mejiro McQueen felt her legs momentarily lose control. A primal fear made her instinctively want to run away.She grabbed her tail, which slightly eased her fear.But in an instant, the terrifying aura vanished behind Mejiro McQueen and then suddenly appeared beside her."I've caught up with you, Mejiro McQueen."--Chapter 104: Facing FearThe trembling McQueen turned her head to hear the voice that seemed to rise from hell beside her.She met the gaze of Golden Crown Eagle, who wore an extremely ugly smile.An intense palpitation made Mejiro McQueen's chest tighten; for a moment, she couldn't even feel her legs."She caught up! In the last 200 Meter, Golden Crown Eagle caught up with Mejiro McQueen!!!"Golden Crown Eagle caught up with Mejiro McQueen, brushing past her in a mere instant.But in that instant, Golden Crown Eagle, with her fully activated Zone, took in Mejiro McQueen's grip on her tail and the look of terror on her face.Golden Crown Eagle looked at this young lady from a prestigious family, who had always maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, now with her pupils constricted and her face covered in sweat.A surge of immense satisfaction welled up within her."Heh heh, this is the insurmountable gap between a Zone Umamusume and an ordinary Umamusume."Golden Crown Eagle thought smugly, and in the next instant, she surpassed Mejiro McQueen."She's overtaken! Golden Crown Eagle has overtaken Mejiro McQueen!!""Is that enough for Mejiro McQueen? She hasn't accelerated any further!""The gap between them is widening!""Three lengths! Four lengths!""The last 100 meter!""What terrifying speed!! Is this the strongest force in US active duty?!""Golden Crown Eagle, now—""Crossing the finish line!!""Golden Crown Eagle has defeated Mejiro McQueen by a margin of seven lengths!""This strongest vs. strongest match ends with an overwhelming victory for Golden Crown Eagle..."As Golden Crown Eagle crossed the finish line, the entire arena fell into a deathly silence.Many Tracen Academy Umamusume watched Mejiro McQueen behind the finish line, hands on knees, panting heavily, sweat pouring from her chin to the ground like a waterfall. They covered their mouths in shock.They lost?Mejiro McQueen lost?!Mejiro McQueen, once considered one of the strongest active-duty competitors alongside Tokai Teio, was unexpectedly overtaken by a large margin and defeated by a staggering seven lengths in a brutal clash.What a cruel and devastating defeat!Mejiro McQueen is the most popular active-duty Umamusume in Tracen Academy, and indeed in all of Japan.When countless Tracen Academy Umamusume witnessed their idol's brutal defeat, they felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave.This was not just a simple 1v1 match.Mejiro McQueen's defeat was tantamount to the defeat of Tracen Academy.After the deathly silence came the thunderous cheers of the fewer than 20 American Umamusume.Their voices were far less deafening than the cheers that erupted from the stands when Mejiro McQueen unleashed her final burst of speed.But these faint voices of fewer than 20 people reached the ears of every Tracen Academy member around the track.They were incredibly jarring.They were incredibly annoying.Golden Crown Eagle waved to the Umamusume members of Pluto Academy, standing behind the finish line, and watched Mejiro McQueen's trembling expression as she stared at the ground.The frustration of being defeated by Sakura Baimu yesterday had been largely vented on Mejiro McQueen, and Golden Crown Eagle's mood had improved considerably.After admiring Mejiro McQueen's trembling for a while, she slowly walked to her side, placed her hand on her shoulder, and whispered:"See? That's the difference between a Zone Umamusume and an ordinary Umamusume. Do you want to learn? I'll teach you."She was confident that this time, Mejiro McQueen wouldn't refuse.At that moment, Maruzensky, Symboli Rudolf, and the other legendary Umamusume from the academy all stopped what they were doing, watching Mejiro McQueen and Golden Crown Eagle with curiosity in the arena.They were curious: what decision would Mejiro McQueen, the active-duty Umamusume who carried the hopes and dreams of countless Tracen Academy newcomers, make at this crucial moment?Would she accept the other's guidance now, only to become discouraged and give up after failing to break through her current level?Or would she accept her failure but remain true to herself, unswayed by temptation?Among the many legends in the academy, only one Umamusume was completely unconcerned about Mejiro McQueen, silently eating her meal.That was Oguri Cap, known as the "monster" of the reed-haired girl.At this moment, she held an enormous bowl of fried noodles, seemingly purchased from who-knows-where, and nonchalantly watched Mejiro McQueen in the arena while devouring her food.The clatter of chopsticks against the plastic container was extremely jarring in the surrounding silence.“Oguri…”Berno Light turned to look at Oguri Cap, who seemed oblivious to the tense atmosphere around her, and gently reminded her.“Aren’t you worried that Miss McQueen really won’t be able to pull herself together and will just stay depressed?”“No.” Oguri Cap chewed on her fried noodles. “After all, she’s an Umamusume trained by Sakura.”Tamamo Cross glanced back at Oguri Cap upon hearing this.“Honestly, why does Oguri trust that weird trainer so much…” Tamamo Cross muttered, then refocused her attention on the arena.A moment later, everyone’s doubts were confirmed.Golden Crown Eagle’s judgment was wrong once again.Mejiro McQueen struggled to sit up and slapped away Golden Crown Eagle’s hand that was on her shoulder.“No need. I won’t lose next time.”Then, Mejiro McQueen turned and walked back toward her team.The legendary Umamusume of Tracen Academy who saw her do this all smiled in unison.Mejiro McQueen had chosen to face her fear head-on.“That’s it. Only an Umamusume with this kind of belief can go further beyond.”Symboli Rudolf nodded with a smile, extremely satisfied with Mejiro McQueen’s resolve.Golden Crown Eagle's hand was slapped away by Mejiro McQueen without any emotion. Her scheme failed, and anger surged within her once more."Tch, forget it. No matter how hard you train, I reckon you won't break through your Zone in six months. And even if you do, can the lowest-level Zone really compete with mine?"Golden Crown Eagle thought to herself, her hard-won cheerful mood turning incredibly irritable again."If it weren't for so many people watching, do you really think you could walk back unscathed?"It was daytime, and Golden Crown Eagle dared not do anything too outrageous in the match.After all, so many legendary Umamusume were watching.Mejiro McQueen's mental fortitude surprised her; the daytime matches were far more restrictive than nighttime ones."This frustration can only be vented at night..."--Chapter 105: Hesitant TouchMejiro McQueen silently returned to Sakura Baimu.“McQueen, don’t be so down! Look at me, I haven’t won a single match this year!”Tokai Teio patted Mejiro McQueen on the back, making a self-deprecating remark.Unfortunately, Mejiro McQueen didn’t respond to Tokai Teio’s teasing, remaining silent.Upon seeing Mejiro McQueen’s silence, the TCB Umamusumes were anxious but unsure how to comfort her.This time, the gap between her and the Golden Crown Eagle was too great.“McQueen, if you lose, you have to get your revenge. Golden Crown Eagle should be competing in the Japan Cup this November. Let’s win back everything we lost today.”Sakura Baimu spoke to Mejiro McQueen in an unusually gentle tone. She had intended to reach out and ruffle Mejiro McQueen’s hair, but withdrew her hand halfway through.Tokai Teio and Satono Diamond standing nearby both witnessed this but quickly looked away without saying a word.“Trainer, is it true that I can’t beat her without a Zone?” Mejiro McQueen suddenly asked.“Not necessarily.”“Is there any precedent? An Umamusume, without a Zone, defeating a Zone holder of Golden Crown Eagle’s caliber?”“Not today, but maybe tomorrow.”Mejiro McQueen paused, stunned by these words. She and the other TCB members looked at Sakura Baimu with surprise, somewhat confused.“What do you mean by ‘not today, but maybe tomorrow’?” Mejiro McQueen asked, puzzled.“Trainer-san is probably joking…” Satono Diamond chuckled, trying to smooth things over.“To be honest,” Mejiro McQueen spoke, “I really don’t have the confidence to beat her at the Japan Cup in November if I can’t break through my current limitations.”“That’s not necessarily true,” Sakura Baimu said. “McQueen, you should remember that Golden Crown Eagle couldn’t keep up with your speed during your first acceleration, which means her actual strength isn’t as great as yours.”“That’s true,” Smart Falcon nodded in agreement.“With your current strength, you definitely can’t contend with Golden Crown Eagle. Opening your Zone is very much a matter of luck. If you’re unlucky, you might never be able to open a Zone in your entire life.”The TCB members’ hearts sank upon hearing Sakura Baimu’s words.These words not only failed to comfort them but actually made their hopes seem even slimmer.“Trainer-san~~!”Tokai Teio stamped her foot, feeling somewhat exasperated by Sakura Baimu’s insensitive remark.“However, although getting a Zone is difficult, if it’s only to defeat Golden Crown Eagle, it doesn’t necessarily require a Zone,” Sakura Baimu said to her team members with a slight smile.“Trainer-san, what do you mean?” Mejiro McQueen raised an eyebrow, looking up at Sakura Baimu.“Before a Zone, isn’t there another domain?” Sakura Baimu smiled.“Aura?!” the TCB Umamusumes exclaimed in unison.“That’s right. McQueen and Teiō have probably felt it several times already. Among the Umamusumes you’ve encountered so far, besides Golden Crown Eagle, the one with the strongest aura is Rice Shower.” Sakura Baimu snapped her fingers.“Mental strength can be improved through training. In fact, the Spartan training I give you can gradually improve your mental strength.”“Once your mental strength is strong, you can resist much of the aura’s influence after an opponent activates their Zone. If your mental strength far surpasses the opponent’s, you can even influence them in return. Besides, improving mental strength also helps with speed.”“Logically, the Zones of ordinary Umamusumes shouldn’t have much of an effect on us anymore, so why haven’t McQueen and I mastered ‘aura’ yet?” Tokai Teio asked.“This kind of thing is like the Zone. It's something I can’t easily reveal to you. Knowing it wouldn’t do you any good; it’s better to figure it out yourself when the time is right,” Sakura Baimu said with a smile.“Trainer-san, are you even reliable? You haven’t even trained a single Zone or Aura Umamusume yet; how do you know all this?”Mejiro McQueen’s eyes immediately turned deadpan when she heard Sakura Baimu use the same old excuse.“You know I wasn’t lying to you, right? Don’t worry, I’ll definitely make sure you beat her in the Japan Cup,” Sakura Baimu said, patting Mejiro McQueen on the shoulder, promising.“In the end, I still have to run myself. I don’t know where your confidence comes from…”Mejiro McQueen looked away and muttered under her breath.There were no more matches for the rest of the day, so Sakura Baimu took her team to practice for a while.They didn’t let the exhausted Umamusumes go home until dusk had completely enveloped the sky.The five Umamusumes on the team lived in the Kuri-dong dormitory, so Sakura Baimu said goodbye to them and boarded the tram to the hospital.After Sakura Baimu left, Teio whispered to McQueen.“McQueen~”“What’s wrong, Teiō? I’m so tired right now, I don’t want to talk.” Mejiro McQueen’s ears were drooping, and her voice was extremely listless.Today had truly been a terrible day for her.“Just now, when Trainer-san was comforting you, she was about to reach out and pat your head~” Tokai Teio said.“Huh?! Did that happen? I didn’t feel anything—when did that happen?!”Mejiro McQueen’s ears perked up immediately upon hearing this.Like a startled rabbit, she stared at Tokai Teio with wide purple eyes.“It was after you came back from losing this afternoon, McQueen. Trainer-san was about to pat your head, but she pulled her hand back halfway.”“Yes, I saw it too.” Satono Diamond nodded repeatedly.“Thank goodness she pulled her hand back, otherwise I might…”Mejiro McQueen instinctively wanted to be a little smug but was interrupted by Tokai Teio’s words.“For some reason, seeing Trainer-san wanting to pat your head but not daring to, I felt a little sorry for her.”“Huh?!”McQueen was startled. After saying this, Teio quickly looked at Diamond beside her."Dia-chan, you think so too?”“Yeah… actually, our Trainer-san is pretty good to us. Although she sometimes does some unexpected things, she doesn’t seem to have done anything too outrageous.” Satono Diamond crossed her arms and whispered.“I don’t know what the other teams think, but I feel that if I were a trainer, and I was even afraid to pat my Umamusume’s head to comfort her, worried she’d get angry, then I’d definitely feel like a terrible trainer.”“That means I haven’t built a good relationship with my Umamusume. Isn’t that a pretty pathetic thing?”--Chapter 106: Sakura, another child is injuredSmart Falcon, listening to their conversation, recalled the scene of Sakura Baimu patting her head.She felt her cheeks involuntarily begin to burn.After hesitating for a moment, she asked in a low voice.“Um… what did Miss McQueen do to make Trainer-san so afraid of you?”“No… I didn’t do anything! It’s normal to feel uncomfortable when a stranger pats my head, right?!” Mejiro McQueen exclaimed.“Yeah, McQueen, you didn’t do anything either—just a few over-the-shoulder throws and a few flying kicks at Trainer-san,” Tokai Teio whispered.Smart Falcon, Kitasan Black, and Satono Diamond: “???”“I… I was just kidding! Look at Spica, their Trainer is like that too, isn’t she?!”Seeing the increasingly strange looks from her teammates, McQueen quickly explained, blushing.“It’s strange how you guys accept this so readily! It’s supposed to be so embarrassing!”“At least we won’t make our Trainer too scared to pat our heads for comfort,” Tokai Teio complained.“Alright, alright, alright! Let’s stop this topic!!”Mejiro McQueen imagined the scene from that afternoon when Sakura Baimu wanted to pat her head to comfort her but hesitated for fear of upsetting her. Suddenly, she felt a pang of pity for Sakura Baimu.With Tokai Teio and Satono Diamond teasing her, Mejiro McQueen felt increasingly guilty.“By the way, I have a question."Kitasan Black, who had been listening silently, suddenly spoke up.“What is it, Kita-san?” Mejiro McQueen quickly asked.“Trainer-san seems to customize the most suitable running style for each race or each track. For example, how to run uphill, how to maintain pace downhill, etc. How do you think she does that? She figured all that out in one night!”“Our Trainer-san hasn’t trained any other Umamusumes before Miss McQueen and Miss Teiō, so she probably doesn’t have any prior experience. Besides, things like uphill and downhill running techniques can only be figured out by Umamusumes themselves, right? How did she, a human, figure it out so quickly?” Kitasan Black asked, puzzled.“Uh, I don’t know either. Trainer-san just always comes up with the plan, and then I practice with McQueen,” Tokai Teio said.“I suspect she got it from Rigil’s trainer."Mejiro McQueen couldn’t help but speculate about Sakura Baimu again.“Impossible. Why would Rigil’s trainer share something like that with someone else? Besides, I’ve never seen the president use that uphill method,” Tokai Teio denied.“What else could have happened?” Mejiro McQueen asked. “She couldn’t have just run off on her own, could she?”“Of course not,” Tokai Teio denied. “I suspect Trainer-san got help from another Umamusume.”“Indeed, she seems to be quite close to Oguri Cap and Berno Light.”--Sakura Baimu arrived at the hospital where Rice Shower was. There, she found Mihono Bourbon sitting in a chair, looking half-asleep, and Rice Shower already fast asleep.She gently patted Mihono Bourbon’s shoulder, jolting her awake.“Sensing danger... Bourbon is about to activate counterattack mode!”Sakura Baimu: “???”What the heck?Mihono Bourbon relaxed after seeing Sakura Baimu.“It was a calculation error, resulting in insufficient caffeine intake.”“Alright, caffeine only makes you feel less tired; it doesn’t restore your energy.”Sakura Baimu spoke, handing Mihono Bourbon a small bottle of nutrient solution.“Drink this and go back to sleep.”“I’m going to sleep anyway, so I don’t need it…”“Alright, drink it.”Mihono Bourbon nodded, downed the nutrient solution in one gulp, then blinked and suddenly turned to look at Sakura Baimu.“I sense my energy has been restored!”“Impressive, isn’t it?” Sakura Baimu smiled.Then she lowered her voice.“Did you ask Rice Shower about Golden Crown Eagle?”“No, I didn’t. I was worried Rice would get agitated again, and if something happened, I wouldn’t be able to ring the call bell for a doctor.”Mihono Bourbon has a “killer of appliances” trait; any appliance she touches will instantly malfunction.“Alright, I understand. You can go back now.”“Okay.” Mihono Bourbon nodded, and before leaving, turned back to Sakura Baimu and whispered:“Thank you for helping Rice, Trainer Sakura.”Mihono Bourbon finished speaking, managing only a faint smile with all her might.She looked exactly like a robot that had received a “smile” command.“It’s nothing. After all, everyone likes Rice Shower.” Sakura Baimu smiled back and said goodbye to Mihono Bourbon.After Mihono Bourbon left, Sakura Baimu turned her gaze back to the sleeping Rice Shower.Then she gently placed her hand on Rice Shower’s leg and began using the system’s functions to heal her.--About two hours later, Sakura Baimu was suddenly awakened by the vibration of her phone.She opened her eyes, took out her phone, and glanced at it. It was Akikawa Yayoi calling.“Hello? Yayoi, what’s up?”“Sakura! Are you at the hospital right now?”“Yes, I’m with Rice Shower.”Sakura Baimu quietly got up and left the room, replying softly.“What’s wrong?”“The hospital called again. Another child was injured and brought in. I guessed you might be there, so I thought I’d ask you to go see her.”“What?! Again!!!”Sakura Baimu’s eyes sharpened, and her tone became more serious.“Where is she? I’m coming right now.”--About an hour later, Sakura Baimu emerged from the room with a grim face.This time, the injured Umamusume was named Queen Beret, a rather violent, power-type Umamusume.Sakura Baimu was familiar with this person’s past; she had used underhanded tactics during Special Week’s debut competition, attempting to eliminate Special Week by clashing with her performance.Unexpectedly, Queen Beret, who favored such underhanded tactics, ended up falling victim to them herself.Furthermore, she also exhibited symptoms of psychological trauma.Until the doctor administered the sedative, she appeared to have witnessed something extremely horrific, her eyes trembling uncontrollably.The doctor deduced that she had been traumatized.The symptoms were the same as those of the Umamusumes from the night before.--Chapter 107: I told you, you'll regret it.Sakura Baimu returned to Rice Shower's hospital room and stood in the doorway, watching the sleeping Rice Shower for a while.Rice Shower was sleeping soundly; thanks to Sakura Baimu's recent treatment, Rice Shower's recovery was progressing very well.Since Sakura Baimu and Mihono Bourbon took over her treatment, Rice Shower had remained soundly asleep.Since she could sleep so deeply, it was a sign that Rice Shower was at peace.If Rice Shower were constantly worried about whether her legs would recover or whether she would be able to run again in the future, she certainly wouldn't be sleeping so peacefully.Although Sakura Baimu didn't get to see Rice Shower wake up and learn from her whether the person taught her about the Zone was Golden Crown Eagle, Sakura Baimu had a basic understanding of what had happened in the past two days.It was very likely that it was Golden Crown Eagle.“Whether it’s her or not, I’ll find out once I go to the Tracen Academy track today.”Sakura Baimu thought to herself.If this student who was injured again was really deliberately targeted by Golden Crown Eagle to lure her there…Sakura Baimu thought to herself, her eyes slowly narrowing.--Sakura Baimu left the hospital, went home to wash off the hair dye, changed back into her outfit from last night, and went to the Tracen Academy track once more.The number of people at the Tracen Academy track tonight was not much different from yesterday.She saw almost no Tracen Academy students.“I knew you’d come.”Sakura Baimu suddenly heard Golden Crown Eagle’s voice.She turned around and saw Golden Crown Eagle still holding a coin, walking toward her step by step.At this moment, Golden Crown Eagle’s expression was exactly like a hunter who had seen its prey take the bait, as if Sakura Baimu’s appearance tonight was entirely expected."I have a question for you.""I did it," Golden Crown Eagle answered before Sakura Baimu could even ask.“What about Rice Shower?”“Rice Shower…”Golden Crown Eagle chuckled softly. “I saw how hard she worked for Takarazuka Kinen, so I helped her win. She should thank me, actually.”“Do you know what the consequences would be if Rice Shower fell while using her Zone?” Sakura Baimu asked softly.“Fall? How would I know she would fall?” Golden Crown Eagle tossed a coin in her hand, feigning ignorance as she watched Sakura Baimu.“So what are you doing at the academy tonight? Training?”Golden Crown Eagle had challenged Sakura Baimu to a match for the second time last night, but Sakura Baimu had refused.This time, she wanted Sakura Baimu to speak first.“I should have warned you before, don’t use your Zone to hurt Umamusume at the academy.”Sakura Baimu spoke calmly, as if chatting casually with a friend."Intentionally? Giving your all in a match is normal, isn't it? They were too weak to withstand the Zone, what could I do? Was I supposed to deliberately hold back, like yesterday?"Golden Crown Eagle bombarded Sakura Baimu with several questions, deliberately trying to provoke her.Ever since losing to Sakura Baimu last night, she had felt incredibly uneasy.The loss to Sakura Baimu weighed heavily on her mind, making Golden Crown Eagle resentful all day."Hoo—"Sakura Baimu let out a long breath and tossed her backpack onto the grass.The instant the backpack hit the grass with a dull thud, Sakura Baimu appeared directly in front of Golden Crown Eagle.The next instant, Sakura Baimu's forehead was pressed against Golden Crown Eagle's, their blue and green eyes almost touching.“I told you, you’ll regret it if I come looking for you.”Sakura Baimu’s aura erupted without warning; the chilling glint in her eyes was clearly visible to Golden Crown Eagle at such close range.But Sakura Baimu’s tone remained perfectly calm, as gentle and serene as a mountain stream.The threat in her words was unmistakable, yet Sakura Baimu's gentle, soothing manner of speaking created a stark sense of unease in Golden Crown Eagle.A powerful fear welled up within Golden Crown Eagle; her instinctive urge to flee vanished, her legs feeling like lead, unable to move.The same panic and breathlessness she felt the previous night when Sakura Baimu had given her advice washed over her again.And under Sakura Baimu's intense gaze, she found herself unable to utter a word in rebuttal.Unlike the previous night, when Sakura Baimu's tone was heavy and forceful, this time it was soft and gentle.This time, the contrast between Sakura Baimu's words and her tone was even more pronounced for Golden Crown Eagle."Come on, you choose the distance, the direction, the track."The cold glint in Sakura Baimu's eyes vanished instantly. She moved her forehead away from Golden Crown Eagle's, her aura instantly receding, as if the previous scene had been nothing but an illusion.Only now did Golden Crown Eagle feel the pressure around her dissipate, finally having the leisure to think about other things.Because until Sakura Baimu withdrew her aura, she couldn't think of anything other than fear and trembling."You unleashed your aura again when I wasn't looking, didn't you?"Realizing she had been thwarted once more, Golden Crown Eagle felt a surge of anger. She, an Umamusume who had activated her Zone, had been twice rendered immobile by Sakura Baimu's aura—it was utterly humiliating."2400m, Turf," Golden Crown Eagle spoke coldly.Upon hearing this, Sakura Baimu immediately turned and walked toward the starting line without saying a word.--This minor altercation between Sakura Baimu and Golden Crown Eagle wasn't particularly noticeable on the vast Tracen Academy track.At least, that was from the perspective of Umamusumes who were busy with their own affairs.In fact, several eyes had already been focused on Sakura Baimu the moment she appeared on the track.Besides Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky, who were still watching from the night before, there was one more spectator tonight.That was the previous American Umamusume to win the Japan Cup—Obey Your Master.She had been summoned by Golden Crown Eagle, who had sent Obey Your Master to watch her match against Sakura Baimu.At this moment, Obey Your Master sat alone on the steps of the stands, watching Sakura Baimu in the Zone with great interest."This seems to be an Umamusume I've never seen before. She hasn't mastered her Zone yet, but her aura is incredibly powerful; she's even intimidated Golden Crown Eagle."Obey Your Master looked at Sakura Baimu with her star-like eyes and chuckled softly.---Chapter 108: A Reckless Escape“Oh, Pony-chan seems angry.”Maruzensky stroked her cheek, watching Sakura Baimu, whose head was pressed against Golden Crown Eagle’s forehead, with amusement.“It seems Ogura didn’t come here willingly; Golden Crown Eagle forced her,” Symboli Rudolf spoke.“I just received a call that Queen Beret from the middle division was injured and taken to the hospital. The chairman sent Trainer Sakura, who happened to be at the hospital, to check on her, and then Ogura came. It seems that the one who injured the Umamusumes at the academy these past few days is this Golden Crown Eagle.”“As expected, Ogura and Trainer Sakura have quite a relationship. Perhaps this is the secret to TCB’s rapid rise,” Maruzensky chuckled.“During the day, both McQueen and Golden Crown Eagle were stunned by her aura after their match, and it took them a while to recover. Now that it's nighttime, Golden Crown Eagle will definitely be even more unrestrained,” Symboli Rudolf said.“Even so, judging from how intimidated Golden Crown Eagle is by Ogura's aura, Ogura's aura must be quite formidable. Given that, she shouldn't be as terrified as McQueen is by Golden Crown Eagle's Zone, right?”“Golden Crown Eagle during the day was probably holding back…”Symboli Rudolf looked at Golden Crown Eagle and Sakura Baimu who had already reached the starting line with a somewhat grim expression.“Golden Crown Eagle has already caused three Umamusumes to end up in the hospital. If we don't intervene, who knows how many more Umamusumes will be harmed.”“Without evidence, can you or I intervene? After all, she's still an active-duty Umamusume. Taking action without decisive evidence might give us a bad reputation.”“I think Ogura probably already has evidence. She's clearly targeting Golden Crown Eagle.”“It’s quite pathetic, really. This year’s Umamusume is really...aside from the badly injured Rice Shower, we don't have anyone else unlocked this level of power. If there were an active-duty member capable of punishing her, neither of us would be in this predicament,” Maruzensky sighed.“Regardless, I’ll have to step in after Ogura finishes her race. I can’t let her harm other Umamusumes so recklessly." Symboli Rudolf spoke in a low voice, arms crossed, staring at the two on the track.This time, Maruzensky and Symboli Rudolf tacitly avoided discussing the outcome.They knew that having forced Ogura to intervene late at night, Golden Crown Eagle would definitely unleash her full power.Lower-level ability is something manageable, but considering the strength of the powers Golden Crown Eagle displayed in her match against Mejiro McQueen today…They didn't believe for a second that "Ogura," this Umamusume without a Zone, could defeat her.--On the Zone, both Golden Crown Eagle and Sakura Baimu assumed starting positions.Only after standing at the starting line did Golden Crown Eagle's mood improve slightly."I've suddenly realized that defeating you self-proclaimed powerful Umamusumes is far more interesting and satisfying than bullying the weaker ones."Golden Crown Eagle held out a coin, grinning maliciously at Sakura Baimu beside her."Have you ever heard the saying, 'The villain dies from talking too much'?"Sakura Baimu stared straight ahead, speaking calmly, unmoved by Golden Crown Eagle's provocation."You've already said all that sarcasm; aren't you afraid of getting slapped in the face later?""You can only be smug for now. After the match, I'm going to enjoy seeing your confidence shattered, just like Mejiro McQueen this afternoon. It'll be irresistible."Golden Crown Eagle noticed that after she said that, Sakura Baimu finally reacted.Sakura Baimu slowly turned to look at her..."I must commend you; your sarcastic remark was very effective. Here's another piece of advice: don't hold back during the run later.""Heh."Golden Crown Eagle chuckled, flicking the coin in her hand into the air.The silvery coin reflected the pale moonlight against the night sky, tumbling several times before landing on the turf.ThumpAlmost simultaneously, two muffled thuds rang out, so synchronized they sounded like a single sound.Sakura Baimu and Golden Crown Eagle charged forward simultaneously, the two already having created a gap in the early stages.Sakura Baimu was leading, while Golden Crown Eagle chose to follow behind pacing herself.This development perfectly suited Golden Crown Eagle's intentions.She was accustomed to running from behind, and the most intimidating aspect of her Zone was overtaking from behind.This time, Sakura Baimu chose to lead directly from the front, which pleased her even more than the last time when she deliberately followed behind.Symboli Rudolf, watching from the sidelines, pressed the timer on her phone at the same moment the two started, wanting to see the true strength of this "Ogura."Sakura Baimu's leading speed was incredibly fast, completely different from her running style last night when she followed behind Golden Crown Eagle.And it wasn't just simple leading; to Golden Crown Eagle and the surrounding Umamusumes, this was Runaway running."As expected, she does have some brains. She knows the pressure of me overtaking her from behind will be immense, so she wants to create a huge gap between us from the start."Golden Crown Eagle watched Sakura Baimu running rapidly ahead with a smile, inwardly scoffing again."I must say, it's definitely faster than Mejiro McQueen's Front Running. However, even Suzuka only uses a Runaway approach. Throughout uma racing history, only Mejiro Palmer has ever won a G1 race using a runaway tactic, but in that race, Takarazuka Kinen, there were practically no strong opponents."Even the legendary Umamusume, the undefeated "Hotrod" Maruzensky, wouldn't choose this Runaway running style.This running style is essentially a reckless and impulsive tactic, involving excessive leading in the early stages, exhausting energy in the mid-to-late stages to create an early lead.Any Umamusume using this style will inevitably lose speed towards the end.Even Mejiro Palmer, the champion of Takarazuka Kinen, is no exception.Of course, Silent Suzuka is not included in this calculation, because although her leading appears fast, she actually maintains her speed until the end, making it a tactically significant form of leading.Moreover, Sakura Baimu's leading speed at this moment is even faster than Silent Suzuka's.---Chapter 109: Has Ogura gone mad?!Many Umamusumes on the track stopped upon seeing the race in progress.They quickly made way, their eyes fixed intently on the hooded figure leading the way."What kind of speed is that?! Is she running a middle distance at the speed of a short distance?!""She's insane!"Experienced Umamusumes can judge the race distance simply by the starting position.Because no matter where she starts, the finish line is the same.But Sakura Baimu's starting position was clearly on the 2400-meter middle-distance track.However, her sprint speed was as exaggerated as if she were running a short distance.Sakura Baimu's initial speed was so high that she deliberately chose to take corners on the outside of the track.While this increased the distance slightly, it avoided the centripetal force of cornering on the inside, allowing her to corner at a near-straight-line speed.Soon, Sakura Baimu had completed the first and second corners and entered a long straight.Although Golden Crown Eagle considered Sakura Baimu's running style reckless and impulsive, she couldn't afford to fall too far behind Sakura Baimu in the early stages, so she increased her own speed considerably.BeepSymboli Rudolf pressed the timer button on her phone, her eyes filled with shock."55.1 seconds?! Is Ogura insane?! Even Silent Suzuka hasn't run this fast in the 1000-meter race!!"Previously, Silent Suzuka's record for the 1000-meter race at the Autumn Tenno Sho, using a runaway style, was 57.4 seconds.Sakura Baimu, however, had drastically improved that time by more than 2 seconds.This speed didn't impress Symboli Rudolf at all; instead, it made her increasingly worried.After all, only the first to cross the finish line is the winner.What's the use of running fast at the beginning?"How long can she maintain this speed? Maybe she won't even make it to the third turn?" Obey Your Master was equally surprised by Sakura Baimu's speed.However, she wasn't too concerned. What difference did it make how fast she ran at the beginning?Golden Crown Eagle had already fallen far behind Sakura Baimu.Although she had been waiting for her moment to unleash her power, the huge gap Sakura Baimu had built up early on was undeniably humiliating.After all, this kind of situation usually only occurred in matches where the skill difference between the two was significant.Golden Crown Eagle felt that continuing like this wasn't a sustainable strategy. Sakura Baimu's speed was simply too outrageous, and she didn't think it would be a good thing if Sakura Baimu continued to be so arrogant.So, Golden Crown Eagle steeled herself and suddenly accelerated after finally reaching the 1000-meter mark.The acceleration was so rapid that it still created a white mist around her.She finally began to gradually close the gap with Sakura Baimu.The pace of this race was incredibly fast; Sakura Baimu reached the steep slope in the blink of an eye.Then, she changed her stride, maintaining her speed as she climbed the slope.Golden Crown Eagle's eyes narrowed sharply upon seeing this.She'd seen that posture that afternoon!"How can she maintain that speed for so long without slowing down?! We're already on the steep hill; how can she still run so fast?!"At this moment, not only Golden Crown Eagle, but also Obey Your Master and Symboli Rudolf, among others, gradually realized something was wrong.Sakura Baimu's opening speed was incredibly high.The race was already halfway through, and they'd already encountered that notoriously difficult steep hill. Sakura Baimu's runaway speed at the start was simply impossible and shouldn't have been able to be maintained.Many people stared blankly at Sakura Baimu as she entered the third turn, their minds unable to comprehend what was happening before them.How fast was Ogura? Words alone might not be enough to grasp it.Mejiro McQueen and Mihono Bourbon broke the spring Tenno Sho record with a speed of 58.8 km/h.Ogura reached a speed of 65.3 km/h when crossing the 1000 Meter mark.Sakura Baimu maintained this speed until the middle of the course, even traversing a steep climb twice the gradient of the Kyoto Racecourse at Tenno Sho in the spring.Such speed cannot be simply described as fast.It was truly breathtaking.Obey Your Master was startled and stood up upon seeing Sakura Baimu maintain her pace uphill."Who is this? Why don't I recognize her at all?! How could I not have a record of an Umamusume who can run at this speed?!"Obey Your Master was momentarily confused.Meanwhile, Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky, watching from another vantage point, also had astonishment in their eyes."The 'heart killer' of Tokyo racetracks—maintaining speed inevitably puts even more pressure on the heart.""But she's already run over 1700 meters at this speed; how can she maintain it?"Symboli Rudolf no longer bothered to check her phone's timer.She had initially thought Ogura was just an Umamusume with exceptional raw power and momentum.But at this moment, she realized she had underestimated Ogura.“Rudolf… do you think it’s possible…”Maruzensky’s blue eyes showed obvious hesitation, and her speech even became somewhat slurred.Seeing this, an extremely absurd idea suddenly sprouted in her mind.“No… this is impossible, right? This kind of thing has never happened before!”Symboli Rudolf categorically denied it, but her tone didn’t seem entirely firm.What she and Maruzensky were speculating about was a situation they hadn’t even considered in their initial discussion—Could an Umamusume without a Zone defeat an Umamusume who had mastered a higher-level Zone?While it was rare for an ordinary Umamusume to defeat a Zone Umamusume, such occurrences had been happening intermittently since four years ago.They were still surprised each time it happened, but it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.However…The strength of Golden Crown Eagle’s Zone was completely different from that of other Zone Umamusumes.This was a Zone on a completely different level.Let alone Umamusumes without Zones, even those like Mihono Bourbon who have broken through Zones are no match for her.Now, after witnessing Sakura Baimu's speed, their unwavering resolve has finally begun to waver.Perhaps, tonight, they will witness history.---Chapter 110: Utter DespairThe pressure of the race now rested on Golden Crown Eagle.Although she didn't think she would lose to Sakura Baimu, seeing Sakura Baimu barely slow down as she entered the third turn made her begin to panic.Sakura Baimu's raw strength was even more terrifying than Mejiro McQueen's.Her first acceleration, while barely managing to catch up with Sakura Baimu's speed, had a negligible effect.The gap didn't narrow significantly.Golden Crown Eagle finally reached the steep slope. Because she was running too fast, her heart was under even greater pressure as she climbed it.As a result, she experienced a noticeable loss of speed on the slope.Seeing the gap she had painstakingly closed widen again, Golden Crown Eagle knew she couldn't afford to delay any longer.She immediately decided to activate her Zone.Her foot slammed down, and with a muffled, explosive sound, Golden Crown Eagle shot off like a cannonball, chasing after Sakura Baimu.Dark green flames blazed in Golden Crown Eagle's eyes, and her aura surged with the activation of her Zone.However, because she was currently too far from Sakura Baimu, her aura had no effect whatsoever."A mere dozen Lengths' difference? Watch me catch up in three seconds."Golden Crown Eagle's lips curled into a grin again. Each activation of her Zone meant she was about to catch up with the Umamusume ahead.Golden Crown Eagle's speed increased dramatically."Here she comes!" Symboli Rudolf cried out, her heart pounding with tension.She didn't want to see an Umamusume without a Zone defeat an Umamusume with a higher-level Zone through sheer strength.However, Symboli Rudolf was even more determined not to see Sakura Baimu lose.Two conflicting thoughts swirled in Symboli Rudolf's mind, making her incredibly tense.This time, the gap between Golden Crown Eagle and Sakura Baimu began to close rapidly.In just two seconds, the significant difference between them had vanished.At this speed, she would catch up with Sakura Baimu in about a second.Just as Golden Crown Eagle's smile deepened, she suddenly noticed Sakura Baimu, about five Lengths ahead of her, slightly lowering herself.With a muffled thud, Sakura Baimu, under the stunned gazes of countless onlookers, accelerated like a rocket.At that moment, just like Golden Crown Eagle, white energy swirled around Sakura Baimu.Golden Crown Eagle, Obey Your Master, Symboli Rudolf, and even Maruzensky, who witnessed this, were all startled.They then realized what had happened.Sakura Baimu's initial speed—a speed that Golden Crown Eagle couldn't match even after accelerating once.A speed that even forced her to activate her Zone to catch up.This was Sakura Baimu's speed before she even began to accelerate."When she overtook Golden Crown Eagle at the finish line last night, she hadn't even accelerated to the point of creating airflow?!"Maruzensky exclaimed, looking at Symboli Rudolf. She felt her memory must be playing tricks on her.Then she noticed that Symboli Rudolf's eyes were also filled with shock.The answer was clear.Maruzensky was deeply shaken. She was about to turn her gaze back to the track when she suddenly noticed Symboli Rudolf's eyes narrow, as if she had seen something incomprehensible.Maruzensky quickly turned back to the track, and her pupils also contracted, her mouth involuntarily widening.Because she saw that the gap between Golden Crown Eagle, who had activated her Zone and whose aura was incredibly powerful, and Ogura had widened once again."Even the fully activated Golden Crown Eagle can't keep up with 'Ogura's' speed?!" Maruzensky was shocked again.Obey Your Master in the audience felt like she'd seen a ghost today.Their Pluto Academy's strongest active-duty Umamusume, Golden Crown Eagle, who had mastered a higher level of Zone, couldn't keep up with the speed of an ordinary Umamusume who hadn't even activated her Zone yet, even with her Zone fully activated!"What's going on?! How could this happen???"Obey Your Master stared intently at Sakura Baimu, dressed in the red Tracen Academy tracksuit.Watching her, with a faint white aura, crush Golden Crown Eagle behind her, who exuded an immense aura.Obey Your Master, for a moment, didn't even know if she was dreaming.Speaking of shock...There was probably no one in the entire audience more shocked than Golden Crown Eagle.Shocked?No, utterly terrified."Even with my Zone activated, I can't catch her?"The stark reality, a cruel despair, overwhelmed Golden Crown Eagle, leaving her unable to believe what she was witnessing."No, absolutely impossible! How could this be?!""Even 'Emperor' Symboli Rudolf, even the 'Monster' Oguri Cap, couldn't possibly surpass my speed without activating her Zone! Who is this Umamusume? What is she?!"This illogical scene plunged Golden Crown Eagle into utter chaos.Her speed was already terrifying to everyone.Yet, she couldn't even keep up with Sakura Baimu ahead.Golden Crown Eagle desperately quickened her pace, squeezing every last drop of air from her lungs to increase her speed.She felt the burning pain in her lungs, and looking at Sakura Baimu, whose distance hadn't diminished at all, she suddenly felt dizzy and overwhelmed by despair."Why?! I've already activated my Zone! I can't accelerate any further!""Why?! Why can't I catch up with her?!""She's just an Umamusume without a Zone activated—why?! How dare she?!"Golden Crown Eagle began to scream hysterically in her mind.Looking at Sakura Baimu, who had already crossed into the final straight and was running toward the finish line, she experienced this feeling of utter helplessness for the first time.It was a gap so vast that no matter how hard she tried, she could never bridge it.Utter despair!Golden Crown Eagle felt an unbearable heartache; she didn't even realize that tears were streaming down her face.Those tears were a mixture of intense resentment and overwhelming helplessness.Suddenly, Golden Crown Eagle's heart skipped a beat.Because she saw that Sakura Baimu's figure suddenly growing rapidly larger in her vision.The next instant, Golden Crown Eagle had caught up with Sakura Baimu.She didn't understand what had happened to Sakura Baimu or how she had suddenly been caught up to.Golden Crown Eagle was overjoyed. She quickly turned to look at Sakura Baimu beside her, and then her pupils dilated sharply.She discovered—Sakura Baimu had imitated her actions from the previous night, suddenly stopping.---Chapter 111: Sakura Baimu's Imposing AuraWhen Golden Crown Eagle realized she had suddenly caught up with Sakura Baimu, a wave of elation washed over her.But when she saw that Sakura Baimu hadn't made a mistake or lost speed,it was a sudden, forceful stop at the wheel.Her heart sank instantly.In her Zone state, Golden Crown Eagle saw the chilling glint in Sakura Baimu's eyes in that instant.She also saw the smirk on Sakura Baimu's lips.This scene was all too familiar.It was exactly like the scene from last night when she waited anxiously for Sakura Baimu to overtake her.She abruptly stopped, leaving her opponent directly in front of her."What is she trying to do by stopping? She doesn't have a Zone!! What is she trying to do?!"At that moment, Golden Crown Eagle had already overtaken Sakura Baimu.But no joy returned to her heart.Instead, a deep unease replaced it.Sakura Baimu first displayed a speed that, even with her Zone fully activated, she couldn't match.Then she suddenly braked, undoubtedly to overtake her and then do something to achieve some goal."Was... it necessary to go to such lengths?"Understanding Sakura Baimu's intentions, Golden Crown Eagle was perplexed.What could Sakura Baimu, without her Zone, possibly do?Unknown.This intense uncertainty transformed into a profound unease, shaking Golden Crown Eagle's confidence, already shattered by this competition.Panic.Because she didn't know what would happen next, Golden Crown Eagle was filled with panic.Her heart pounded wildly, even causing a dull ache in her chest.The pounding sound was incredibly clear within the Zone's world.The rapid, almost unnatural pounding of her heart intensified Golden Crown Eagle's fear."Crossing the finish line... if I cross the finish line... it will all be over..."Golden Crown Eagle turned her tear-streaked face, fixing her gaze on the finish line ahead.She herself didn't realize it.From the moment she overtook Sakura Baimu, the hunter-prey dynamic between her and Sakura Baimu had been reversed.ThumpGolden Crown Eagle seemed to hear a sound behind her again.She knew Sakura Baimu had made her move.Extreme unease drove her to desperately try to look behind her, wanting to see what Sakura Baimu was planning.Ultimately, overwhelming fear overcame her determination to cross the finish line.She slowly looked behind her.But Golden Crown Eagle's mind had only turned about ninety degrees when she sensed a figure enveloped in an overwhelming aura at the edge of her vision.Her answer became clear—It was aura.ThumpA clear, resonant heartbeat echoed in Golden Crown Eagle's mind.Thump, thumpAs the second and third heartbeats sounded, Golden Crown Eagle suddenly realized that the aura surrounding her had vanished.In its place was a deep blue, even more profound than the sky itself.Only then did Golden Crown Eagle understand.The aura Sakura Baimu had previously displayed before her was merely the tip of the iceberg.A Zone can enhance speed and one's aura.However, Sakura Baimu's aura was so powerful that it was enough to shatter her Zone.At this moment, Golden Crown Eagle felt...It was as if a ferocious lion had opened its bloodthirsty jaws behind her.It was a fear stemming from primal instinct.Even more tears streamed from Golden Crown Eagle's eyes, but she found herself unable to move her legs an inch.ThumpWith the fourth heartbeat, Sakura Baimu was already level with Golden Crown Eagle.Golden Crown Eagle completely lost her will to fight; the intense fear even made her unable to feel her legs.Run for your life?No, at this moment, she only wanted to close her eyes, not wanting to meet Sakura Baimu's cold, frightening eyes again.ThumpWhen Golden Crown Eagle's fifth heartbeat sounded, Sakura Baimu's aura subsided, and she instantly overtook Golden Crown Eagle again.Golden Crown Eagle's heart was already beating very rapidly.What happened within five heartbeats appeared to take no more than two seconds to the outside world.But in those two seconds, everyone witnessed Sakura Baimu once again overtaking Golden Crown Eagle, who had surpassed her.And Golden Crown Eagle, whose face had initially lit up with joy at having overtaken Sakura Baimu,...As if her soul had been ripped away, all movement vanished instantly, and her body slumped downward in the direction she had been running.Crossed the finish line!With a dull thud as Golden Crown Eagle crashed onto the grass, Sakura Baimu crossed the finish line expressionlessly.She didn't even look back at the fallen Golden Crown Eagle, but went straight to where she had dropped her backpack, picked it up, and started walking outside."..."The night sky, which had been filled with people, fell completely silent as Sakura Baimu's footsteps faded.Many people stared at the figure of Golden Crown Eagle, who had fallen before the finish line, leaving a long trail of brown dirt on the grass, and felt a surge of fear in their hearts.They didn't understand what had happened to Golden Crown Eagle.In the two seconds it took Sakura Baimu to brake and catch up with Golden Crown Eagle, the battle took a dramatic turn.Because of the distance and the short time, even Obey Your Master, Symboli Rudolf, and Maruzensky didn't quite see what happened.They only saw Sakura Baimu suddenly brake; then, the instant she overtook Golden Crown Eagle, her aura exploded and then receded.Then, Golden Crown Eagle collapsed as if she had lost her soul.“She won...? She really won?”Symboli Rudolf stammered, staring in disbelief at the fallen Golden Crown Eagle.“Yes,” Maruzensky nodded.“A Umamusume without a Zone defeated a Umamusume who had awakened a higher-level Zone?”“That’s right,” Maruzensky nodded again.“…” Symboli Rudolf’s eyes widened.The last time she was this shocked was at Arima Kinen that year, when she witnessed Oguri Cap break through her Zone.“The aura that Ogura just displayed in that instant was comparable to a ‘monster’,” Symboli Rudolf said.“Hmm… the level of the Heisei top three, huh. I can’t believe we’re fortunate enough to see it again…” Maruzensky nodded with a sigh.--Obey Your Master's eyes were also filled with intense shock.She had rarely seen such a powerful aura.But the aura that Sakura Baimu had just displayed was comparable to that of the "Emperor" and the "Reed-haired Monster.""Who exactly is she? With such strength, she must have won a G1 championship. I'll investigate thoroughly when I get back!"--Chapter 112: Such a Thing Actually Happened!!After the initial shock, Symboli Rudolf suddenly realized a problem.A fall while running at high speed is extremely dangerous.The impact of a fall at over 70 km/h is enough to destroy a Umamusume's bones.In more severe cases, bones could even pierce through the skin.This is an extremely serious accident.Thinking this, Symboli Rudolf quickly ran toward the center of the track.Maruzensky, seeing Symboli Rudolf's action, quickly followed.By this time, Obey Your Master had arrived at Golden Crown Eagle's side to check on her.Looking at Golden Crown Eagle, whose face was covered in a mixture of mud and tears, she quickly checked her legs and arms before finally letting out a sigh of relief.“Looks like that Umamusume held back…”She was a retired Umamusume from Pluto Academy who brought her students to Japan for an exchange program.If it was just a minor injury, that would be fine.But if the Umamusume she was with had suffered a comminuted fracture, she definitely wouldn't be able to explain herself when she got back.“Hey, wake up, wake up, Golden Crown Eagle, are you alright?”Obey Your Master shook Golden Crown Eagle's body and suddenly heard a voice from the side.She looked up and saw Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky.“Oh, it’s ‘The Emperor’ and ‘Hotrod’. So you’re watching the match here too,” Obey Your Master laughed.“How is she?” Symboli Rudolf asked.“A fracture is certain, but it shouldn’t be serious. We should still have a doctor check her out,” Obey Your Master said."Thank goodness, thank goodness." Symboli Rudolf finally breathed a sigh of relief.If Ogura had really disguised herself as a student of Tracen Academy, sneaked into the academy in the middle of the night, injured a foreign Umamusume, and then simply left, it would have been a serious dereliction of duty on her part as student council president.Officially, that was true.For Symboli Rudolf herself, the injuries Golden Crown Eagle had suffered were utterly insufficient to atone for her mistake."Do you know that she caused three of our students to be hospitalized?" Maruzensky asked.“I don’t know, but it’s not unexpected.” Obey Your Master took out her phone and called an ambulance.“So, since it’s not unexpected, didn’t you tell them beforehand? Isn’t that the duty of retired Umamusumes?” Symboli Rudolf said.“Golden Crown Eagle came to Japan early, not with our main group. Besides, I didn’t know about this beforehand,” Obey Your Master said.After helping Golden Crown Eagle wipe the mud and tears from her face, she patted the dirt off her clothes and smiled at Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky:“Since she did something like that, she deserves it.”“Wow, you’re quite understanding,” Maruzensky laughed.“I certainly won’t protect bad kids,” Obey Your Master chuckled lightly. “Speaking of which, Emperor…”“What is it, Obey Your Master?”“That student just now, what’s her name? I’ve thoroughly investigated all the powerful Umamusumes in Tracen Academy, but I haven’t found one that matches her.”Symboli Rudolf raised an eyebrow upon hearing Obey Your Master’s words.That Ogura was brought by the Chairperson Akikawa Yayoi; she wasn’t a student at their academy at all.However, Symboli Rudolf was quite curious about Ogura’s identity.After witnessing Ogura’s strength today, Symboli Rudolf was filled with immense curiosity and admiration for her talent.If Ogura were still an active-duty Umamusume, she would definitely bring her into the Central Tracen Academy.Of course, now that Symboli Rudolf has witnessed Sakura Baimu's skill, she is increasingly convinced that Sakura Baimu isn't an active-duty Umamusume.She is more likely a retired legend."I have no comment on that," Symboli Rudolf spoke."Is it necessary to keep it so secret? If you don't tell me, I'll have to investigate one by one. Anyway, this is definitely G1 Umamusume-level skill. I'll go back and investigate all the past G1 winners; I'll find out sooner or later. Why not save everyone's time?""Fine, you should investigate yourself," Symboli Rudolf refused again.However, she really wanted to say, "You should tell me if you found out.""How boring~ It's obviously one of your secret weapons you've been secretly training, but I've finally discovered it today."Obey Your Master waved her hand, looking like she had discovered a major secret of Tracen Academy.--Half an hour later, after getting Obey Your Master and Golden Crown Eagle into the ambulance, Symboli Rudolf finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Maruzensky, whose eyes were shining brightly."Finally, you're moved, aren't you?"Symboli Rudolf smiled."Rudolf, aren't you moved? Seeing a pony like this." Maruzensky looked at Symboli Rudolf with shining eyes."Moved, yes. I haven't met an umamusume who moves me like this since Oguri Cap."Of course, Symboli Rudolf was moved by her strength, nothing more.--Sakura Baimu hadn't even started changing her clothes after getting home when she received a phone call.It was the student council president, Symboli Rudolf.Sakura Baimu's heart skipped a beat; a bad feeling washed over her."Hello? Sorry to bother you so late, Trainer Sakura.""It's alright. What's up, Symboli Rudolf?""Are you still at the hospital where Rice Shower is?""Yes.""You should remember Golden Crown Eagle, right?""Yes, she beat McQueen's American Umamusume this afternoon.""She just broke her leg during a match with another Umamusume and was taken to your hospital.""Really?! How serious is it?!" Sakura Baimu exclaimed in shock."..."Symboli Rudolf, hearing Sakura Baimu's surprised tone, suddenly fell silent.“Sorry, I might need to trouble you again. If possible, could you please check on her injury? After all, she's an exchange student from Pluto Academy, and the academy can't just ignore her injury.”“I understand,” Sakura Baimu replied.“Okay, thank you. Goodnight.”“Goodnight.”Sakura Baimu hung up the phone, ripped off her clothes, and threw them into the laundry basket, then went into the bathroom to shower.After showering, she dyed her hair back to black, changed into her trainer's clothes, and headed back to the hospital where Rice Shower was.--Chapter 113: Onee-sama!The next day.Rice Shower awoke to the chirping of birds.Looking toward the bedside, she saw Sakura Baimu sitting in a chair, leaning back with her eyes closed, fast asleep.In the days leading up to her hospitalization, she had been falling asleep almost constantly, accompanied by intense anxiety and fear.Even in deep sleep, she was plagued by nightmares.The scene at Takarazuka Kinen...The nightmare of a future confined to a wheelchair, never to stand again, would always jolt her awake.Despite her exhaustion, she couldn't sleep well.This was a significant blow to Rice Shower's mental well-being.For an Umamusume, nothing was more terrifying than the prospect of never being able to run again.Fortunately.Rice Shower always woke up from nightmares...She could always see Mihono Bourbon's face, or perhaps that of TCB's trainer, Sakura Baimu, by her bedside.This gave her a little peace of mind.Rice Shower had actually interacted with Sakura Baimu many times before.However, it was mostly Sakura Baimu approaching her to do strange things.For a while, Sakura Baimu even pestered her every day, making her learn another language that was incredibly strange and awkward to her.For Rice Shower, who wasn't good at socializing, Sakura Baimu's social awkwardness caused her a lot of trouble.However, Rice Shower's opinion of Sakura Baimu gradually changed after the Takarazuka Kinen incident.Mihono Bourbon had told Rice Shower that when she was in trouble that day, Sakura Baimu jumped down from the audience to find her.She even lied and claimed to be her trainer, accompanying her almost entirely through all the hospital admission procedures related to Rice Shower.Of course.More importantly,Mihono Bourbon also told her that Rice Shower's rapid recovery was thanks to Sakura Baimu.Every day, when the hospital doctors came to check on Rice Shower's recovery, they would gather around and discuss it in astonishment for a long time.They praised Rice Shower's amazing body, saying that her rapid recovery from injuries was nothing short of miraculous.Although Rice Shower didn't quite understand what was going on, she was certain that Mihono Bourbon wouldn't lie to her.All the credit likely went to the trainer beside her.Rice Shower could genuinely feel her body recovering to full health at an astonishing rate.This was why Rice Shower was able to sleep peacefully."It seems that Ms. Sakura is actually a very kind person..."Rice Shower glanced at the still-sleeping Sakura Baimu, silently observing the trainer."Looking closely, Ms. Sakura is quite pretty. Her eyelashes are so long, and her face is like it was drawn with a pen; she's practically straight out of a fairy tale..."Rice Shower had finally found a moment when Sakura Baimu was asleep, so she took the opportunity to observe this trainer—someone she wasn't particularly close to, yet for some reason, she cared for her so diligently.Just then, the sun rose, and sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains in the hospital room, illuminating Sakura Baimu's flowing black hair. This light complemented her fair and radiant complexion, making it appear even more luminous.Rice Shower then realized that Sakura Baimu possessed a beauty that was in no way inferior to an Umamusume.In fact, even among Umamusumes, she could be considered top-tier in terms of looks.Of course, all of this was contingent on Sakura Baimu being awake.At least in Rice Shower's memory, Sakura Baimu was mostly ill in the head.Rice Shower simply watched her quietly, momentarily lost in thought."It must be exhausting. Working at the academy during the day, and then training her Umamusume in the afternoon..."Rice Shower thought to herself, suddenly feeling envious of Tokai Teio and the others for having a trainer like Sakura Baimu.It wasn't just because Sakura Baimu was an excellent trainer.It was also because Sakura Baimu cared so much for her, an Umamusume not even part of their team; one could only imagine how much she cared for the Umamusume on her own team.Unlike her, who always trained alone...Just as Rice Shower was lost in thought, she suddenly noticed Sakura Baimu open her eyes.She had been observing Sakura Baimu, and now their eyes met instantly in Sakura Baimu's azure gaze.Rice Shower panicked instantly.“You’re awake,” Sakura Baimu spoke softly with a smile.“Yes, Rice is awake.” Rice Shower nodded, relieved to see that Sakura Baimu didn’t seem to notice anything amiss.“Onee-sama, was the chair uncomfortable?”“It’s not a big problem. I didn’t sleep long. Two more Umamusume were admitted last night, and I didn’t get back until very late,” Sakura Baimu said.“Ah?! More Umamusume admitted?!” Rice Shower’s face instantly filled with panic upon hearing this.“Yes, Queen Beret from the middle school, and an Umamusume from Pluto Academy, Golden Crown Eagle.”“Huh? I’ve heard of Queen Beret. And that American Umamusume is…?” Rice Shower asked in surprise.“Here, it’s her.”Sakura Baimu pulled out a picture of Golden Crown Eagle on her phone and held it up in front of Rice Shower.Rice Shower’s expression suddenly changed drastically upon seeing the picture in Sakura Baimu’s hand.“She…she!!”“She’s the Umamusume who taught Rice Shower about the Zone, right?”“Yes…I didn’t expect…how did she get hospitalized? Rice could sense she was very strong…!”“I don’t know. I think she fell while running and broke a bone. It’s not too serious; she should recover in a month or two.”Sakura Baimu had held back last night. She had achieved her goal of giving thay Umamusume a warning, but she didn’t necessarily want to completely destroy this American Umamusume, preventing her from running for the rest of her life.Firstly, she was worried that if she had really injured Golden Crown Eagle to that extent, even if she wasn’t wanted by the police, she probably wouldn’t be able to run at Tracen Academy anymore.Secondly, Golden Crown Eagle must participate in the Japan Cup in November.This is the strongest opponent TCB has faced so far.Sakura Baimu's next goal is to train Mejiro McQueen to a level where she can defeat Golden Crown Eagle before the Japan Cup.If she really crippled Golden Crown Eagle, Mejiro McQueen would have one less opponent in the Japan Cup, and even if she won, she probably wouldn't be happy.Sakura Baimu thought to herself, checked the time on her phone, and then stood up."Rice, you should rest well and recover. I'm going to the academy.""Okay, Rice got it! Have a safe trip, Ms. Sakura."Rice Shower gave Sakura Baimu a radiant smile, incredibly soothing.However, unexpectedly, Sakura Baimu looked dissatisfied, frowning at Rice Shower."Wait a minute. What should you say at this point?"Rice Shower's smile froze instantly upon hearing Sakura Baimu's words."Sakura-san's having another episode!"She held up an "OK" sign for Sakura Baimu and spoke in extremely awkward pronunciation."It's... okay, Onee-sama."----Chapter 114: The Chairman's Secretary is also an Umamusume?!In the morning, Sakura Baimu, along with a group of Umamusume from Tracen Academy, entered the academy at the behest of the academy chairman's secretary, Junkawa Tazuna."Good morning, Ms. Sakura It's surprising you're here so early today" Junkawa Tazuna greeted Sakura Baimu with a smile."Yes, I just came from the hospital, and I'm not going back..."Sakura Baimu also greeted Junkawa Tazuna with a smile, but she suddenly jumped in fright halfway through her sentence.Because she discovered that above Junkawa Tazuna's smiling head, a system interface had also appeared.[Junkawa Tazuna, Training Difficulty (SS)]"What the heck?! SS?!! Even higher than Symboli Rudolf?!!!!"Sakura Baimu even wondered if she was seeing things.This chairman's secretary, who not only doesn't grant system points for opening the door for her but also deducts 1500 points, is actually an Umamusume?!Moreover, this was the highest difficulty rating for training among all the Umamusume Sakura Baimu had seen so far.This basically meant that Junkawa Tazuna's attributes were already maxed out, requiring no further training.Sakura Baimu stared at Junkawa Tazuna in astonishment, feeling like she had seen a ghost."Good heavens, not only is Yayoi an Umamusume, but even the chairman's secretary is an Umamusume! No wonder Yayoi told me before that it wouldn't matter if Miss Junkawa knew my secret; it turns out Yayoi knew Miss Junkawa was also an Umamusume!!!"Sakura Baimu was shocked and, with a scrutinizing gaze, she walked step by step toward Junkawa Tazuna, wanting to take a closer look at this Umamusume who had never been discovered before, even more extraordinary than Emperor Symboli Rudolf."Speaking of which, Miss Junkawa always wears a green hat, and her ears are hidden in it?""She always wears a women's uniform skirt, which is much tighter than Yayoi's long dress. Where is her tail hidden? Doesn't she feel uncomfortable wearing this kind of suit-style uniform skirt?"Sakura Baimu walked up to Junkawa Tazuna, staring intently at the chairman's secretary, as if trying to uncover all her secrets.Even though Junkawa Tazuna was usually very good-natured and always had a smiling face, now, seeing Sakura Baimu staring at her so intently in front of so many students, her smile couldn't help but stiffen slightly."Sakura-san, is something the matter?"Tazuna noticed that the Umamusume students who had been rushing to school all looked at her with alarmed expressions after seeing Sakura Baimu's actions.Tazuna felt incredibly awkward."Nothing, it's just that I suddenly realized how hard it is for you, Tazuna-san. Coming to school so early every day and handling so many things, while the Director hardly has any work to do," Sakura Baimu spoke with a smile, looking away."Haha, the Director is actually very busy too. She also has to manage the URA (Japan Central Umamusume Racing Association), so she doesn't have much time for school matters."Tazuna felt Sakura Baimu's gaze shift away and felt a sense of relief, letting out a soft sigh of relief.Just as Sakura Baimu was trying to get closer to the chairman's secretary, she heard a very disgruntled voice from the side."Trainer-san, what are you doing blocking the way here? Can't you see that Ms. Junkawa is already annoyed?"It was Tokai Teio."No, I didn't..." Junkawa Tazuna quickly explained."Ms. Junkawa, you don't need to say anything. Our Trainer-san is causing you trouble."Mejiro McQueen spoke, bowing to Junkawa Tazuna as well, then looking at Sakura Baimu with disdain.That expression seemed to say:"Don't you know how weird your behavior looks to others?""Teio, you naughty thing, don't you dare badmouth your trainer in front of others."Sakura Baimu feigned anger, ruffling Tokai Teio's head and messing up her brown hair."Trainer-san"Tokai Teio let out a long, shrill, dissatisfied sound.Mejiro McQueen stood by, silently watching Sakura Baimu and Tokai Teio's intimate actions.She recalled what the team members had told her after training last night about Sakura Baimu wanting to touch her head but not daring to."Alright, alright, McQueen, you guys go to school. Get back to training this afternoon."Sakura Baimu finally let Tokai Teio off the hook, then called out to Mejiro McQueen."I knew that without you saying it~"Mejiro McQueen gracefully tossed her long hair and walked straight into the campus.--After Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen had walked for a while, and Sakura Baimu was finally out of sight, Tokai Teio suddenly leaned close to Mejiro McQueen's ear and whispered with a soft laugh."McQueen, so sour~""What, what are you saying?!"Mejiro McQueen was startled, but she pretended not to understand Tokai Teio's words at all.“McQueen wants Trainer-san to pat her head too, why not just say it?”“Given her awful personality, if I said it, she'd laugh at me for ages…”Mejiro McQueen answered instinctively, then suddenly realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself:“No, I meant hypothetically. I wouldn’t let a stranger pat my head; I’m not like you, Teio, I’m not a child anymore.”“Huh—? McQueen and I share the same birthday, don’t we?”“I meant behavior, behavior! Teio, you’re acting like a child.”“Eh? Is that so? I remember when I had my birthday before, Canopus and the others gave me a birthday cake, and while I was out buying drinks, you ate ninety percent of it all by yourself, McQueen.”Tokai Teio tapped her chin, looking as if reminiscing."Nonsense! There's no way it's that much, at most eighty percent!!" Mejiro McQueen blushed and quickly explained."Eighty percent is still a lot!!! That's cake for seven people—Canopus, the four of us, plus you, me, and Trainer-san!!!""I... what could I do! It's just that that day, I..."Mejiro McQueen's face turned bright red, then she suddenly realized something was wrong."Wait! Teio, how did you know about this? I remember buying two cakes, right? That's why I ate one.""That's because Trainer-san already guessed that McQueen was greedy, so she bought another one!" Tokai Teio spoke disdainfully.-----Chapter 115: Harassment from the Chairman's AuthorityAfter watching Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio leave for class, Sakura Baimu went to the cafeteria alone, grabbed a huge plate of food, and sat down to enjoy her breakfast.Umamusumes who often passed by looked surprised when they saw the large plate of food on Sakura Baimu's table.After all, human gluttons are rare.Of course, Sakura Baimu's actual appetite isn't that large.Her usual food intake is about the same as a normal person's.However, because Sakura Baimu gets very little rest each day, and almost no rest at night—she's mostly either training or taking care of Rice Shower—she usually eats a lot the next morning to replenish her energy after a night's work.Just considering breakfasts, Sakura Baimu is probably at the level of a glutton.Specifically, she's above Daiki Shuttle but below Special Week.After breakfast, Sakura Baimu went to the chairman's office and found Akikawa Yayoi, who had been startled awake from her slumped-over desk by her entrance."Sakura... you scared me," Akikawa Yayoi said, yawning and rubbing her slightly teary, sleepy eyes."Yayoi, you didn't come to watch me run again last night, did you?"Seeing Akikawa Yayoi so tired, and recalling their previous encounter at the academy during training, Sakura Baimu immediately guessed that Akikawa Yayoi had probably stayed out all night watching her run."Haha!"Akikawa Yayoi tried to brush it off with a cheerful laugh, fanning herself a few times with her fan before looking at Sakura Baimu."Golden Crown Eagle was admitted to the hospital?""You already know! A fracture, but not serious.""That's the best outcome."Akikawa Yayoi smiled and nodded. She jumped off the chair, then gracefully walked to Sakura Baimu, standing on tiptoe as if to offer encouragement.Sakura Baimu chuckled softly, also bending slightly forward, as Akikawa Yayoi patted her shoulder."Speaking of which, Sakura, your speed yesterday really amazed me. Was this your first time running against such a strong Umamusume?""Yes, it was my first time running against an Umamusume of this level."Sakura Baimu nodded. Golden Crown Eagle was indeed the strongest Umamusume she had ever faced.“Sakura, you're really strong! That Golden Crown Eagle actually bullied a student from the academy to force you out. She seriously underestimated you.”“Yes, if she hadn't targeted the Umamusumes from the academy, she wouldn't have ended up like that.”“It's one thing that she challenged you the first time, but even though you've already beaten her once, she still hasn't realized the gap between you. It's no wonder she lost.”Akikawa Yayoi, fanning herself, recalled the events of the previous night, nodding repeatedly.“She has always lived in her own little world. Because she hadn't met any rivals in her grade, she considered herself invincible. Then she lost to you, Sakura, at the academy. Unsure of her superiority and unable to stop, she was ultimately crushed by harsh reality.”“Truly pathetic.”Sakura Baimu agreed wholeheartedly with Akikawa Yayoi's insightful assessment.“Luckily, Sakura isn’t a bad kid; otherwise, it would be terrible.” Akikawa Yayoi chuckled, reaching out to pat Sakura Baimu’s head again.However, Sakura Baimu anticipated her intention and immediately straightened up.Akikawa Yayoi stretched out her arms and stood on tiptoe, only to find that she couldn’t reach the top of Sakura Baimu’s head at all.“Hmph.”Sakura Baimu’s lips curled into a smug smile.“Sakura, as the chairperson of Tracen Academy, I order you to kneel down!” Seeing Sakura Baimu’s smugness, Yayoi puffed out her cheeks and commanded her.“Is this even possible? Yayoi, as your superior, you’re ordering your subordinate to do this!”Of course, Sakura Baimu wasn’t unwilling.She tried to feign an authoritative demeanor as Akikawa Yayoi appeared, but Akikawa Yayoi's petite frame and youthful face made it impossible for Sakura Baimu to think anything other than "cute."Sakura Baimu, feigning reluctance, gently squatted down, and then, to Akikawa Yayoi's satisfaction, the older girl ruffled her hair."This is harassment from your boss, oh, so good so good"Looking at Akikawa Yayoi's expression, Sakura Baimu covered her face with her hands again.This kind of harassment is really nice!She felt grateful once again for being a trainer at Tracen Academy.Although Sakura Baimu was suspended, it was Akikawa Yayoi who recruited her into Tracen Academy.Even Sakura Baimu's current status was arranged by Akikawa Yayoi, the chairperson of Tracen Academy.After having the lovely chairperson open the door for her again, Sakura Baimu left the chairperson's office satisfied.--After the morning's cultural classes ended and they had lunch, the TCB Umamusumes met Sakura Baimu, who had been waiting for a long time, in the activity room."There's a lot to talk about today; let's go through it one by one."Sakura Baimu patted the whiteboard and spoke to her teammates."Originally, we only had Kita-chan's matches until late September."The teammates looked up and saw that the original schedule was almost entirely filled with "Kita-chan."“However, GG joined our team, and I promised her I'd help her win the G1 championship within six months, so the schedule has been slightly altered.”Sakura Baimu took out a new schedule and posted it on the whiteboard.“This month, there’s only Kita-chan’s match, but next month, in addition to Kita-chan’s match, we’ve added another match for GG. By the way, you two are both participating in G3-level matches.”“Huh?!! I’m going to participate in a high-stakes match too?” Kitasan Black’s crimson eyes widened in surprise upon hearing Sakura Baimu’s words.“Yes, don’t be afraid. Competing against strong opponents is the fastest way to become stronger.” Sakura Baimu smiled.“Kita-chan has at least one match every month, so I won’t go into details. As for Dia-chan, she has one match each in September and November, with the November match being a G3.”“Understood, Trainer-san.” Satono Diamond nodded elegantly.“McQueen will be participating in the Autumn Tenno Sho at the end of October,” Sakura Baimu said, smiling as she looked at her teammates.“And just a side note, if McQueen wins another G1, she will become only the second Japanese player in history to achieve seven Umamusume titles.”---Chapter 116: Did You Keep Another Umamusume Outside?"Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?!!"Upon hearing Sakura Baimu's words, a chorus of exclamations erupted in the TCB activity room.The loudest shout, of course, came from Mejiro McQueen's opponent—Tokai Teio.Tokai Teio's eyes widened in astonishment as she stared at Mejiro McQueen, who, while inwardly thrilled by the gasps of her teammates, maintained a calm, hair-flipping gesture."Does that mean McQueen is about to become like the President?! I can't accept this!!!"Tokai Teio clutched her face, completely unable to accept this reality.Then, her eyes narrowed, and she turned to look at Sakura Baimu.“Trainer-san! I want to sign up for the Autumn Tenno Sho too! I made a deal with McQueen on the first day of school; I gave her my spot in the Spring Tenno Sho, so I'm going to participate in the Autumn Tenno Sho!”“What do you mean you gave it to me? Teio, even if you went, you wouldn't win.” Mejiro McQueen was also surprised.“I don't care, I'm going to participate in the Autumn Tenno Sho!!” Tokai Teio shouted.“Alright, Teio will participate in the Autumn Tenno Sho too,” Sakura Baimu spoke, adding Tokai Teio's name to the schedule with a pen.“Even if you win the Autumn Tenno Sho, Teio, you won't have seven titles yet,” Mejiro McQueen casually reminded her. “Teio, you only have four titles so far.”“Hmph! I’ll catch up soon! I’m going to become a seven-title Umamusume like the president!” Tokai Teio retorted, somewhat unconvinced.“After the Autumn Tenno Sho, it’s the Japan Cup. Teio was last year’s Japan Cup champion, so McQueen, you absolutely must do your best to win it too.”“The Japan Cup— Golden Crown Eagle will be participating…”Smart Falcon suddenly looked flustered, and the faces of the other Umamusumes in the room who heard her words also turned somewhat grim.“So, McQueen, you’ll be training with the goal of defeating the Golden Crown Eagle,” Sakura Baimu said. “I’ve already devised a strategy for you to defeat the Golden Crown Eagle; you can all listen to it.”Sakura Baimu handed a stack of printed materials to the surprised Mejiro McQueen.Then she placed a map of the Tokyo Racecourse in the center of the whiteboard and pointed at the track with her pointer.“The Golden Crown Eagle is good at following Pace Chaser Umamusumes. Her acceleration in the mid-to-late stages is very powerful, so McQueen, you must establish an early lead to minimize the impact of her momentum.”As she spoke, Sakura Baimu pointed with her pointer to the heart-stopping steep climb, the final corner, and about 400 meters from the finish line.“You have three positions where you can create an advantage: leading in the opening, a critical moment in the mid-game, and acceleration in the final corner.”“Golden Crown Eagle has two acceleration phases; when she accelerates depends on the distance you create while leading. As for the area, if you're fast enough, you can force her to open her area around the third corner, which is the best outcome…”When Sakura Baimu first explained the tactics, the TCB members listened casually.But as Sakura Baimu continued speaking, gradually, the Umamusumes in the room put away their casual expressions and began to take it seriously.Sakura Baimu explained the opening, mid-game, steep climbs, final corner, and final straight in great detail, and divided the normal race into three categories based on the distance Mejiro McQueen created.Each category involved a completely different tactic.The TCB Umamusumes hadn't initially expected Sakura Baimu to be particularly detailed, given that Golden Crown Eagle was an American Umamusume and the Japan Cup was being held in Japan.Her only record in the 2400-meter race at Tracen Academy was once—yesterday afternoon's race against McQueen.Therefore, Sakura Baimu shouldn't have been able to provide such a detailed analysis of Golden Crown Eagle.However, as they listened to Sakura Baimu speak for over half an hour without stopping, the expressions on the Umamusumes' faces gradually shifted from casual to serious, and then to grave.After Sakura Baimu finished speaking, the Umamusumes in the activity room were all staring at her with wide eyes and expressions of horror.At that moment, they realized something was wrong.Sakura Baimu's knowledge of the Golden Crown Eagle was far from merely detailed.It was thorough.Sakura Baimu even analyzed the vast differences between Golden Crown Eagle and Mejiro McQueen, along with the corresponding psychological activities, with remarkable clarity.According to several Umamusumes at TCB...To use an inappropriate analogy...It was as if Sakura Baimu had personally fought several rounds against the Golden Crown Eagle!This was utterly bizarre!"Alright, that's all. Do you have any questions?"Sakura Baimu picked up her cup, brought it to her lips, asked the question, then put the cup back on the table, feigning a drink.Her main focus was actually on Mejiro McQueen.Her fighting against the Golden Crown Eagle was actually secondary.The most crucial thing was to thoroughly understand Golden Crown Eagle's personality and running style.Then, a strategy could be developed for Mejiro McQueen's Japan Cup run in November.Otherwise, wouldn't it be more effective for her to lead from start to finish on the first night, forcing Golden Crown Eagle to go all out and still not catch up, then finish with a huge margin?The problem was that Sakura Baimu directly crushing Golden Crown Eagle wouldn't be very meaningful, hence the need to deliberately lose.She used herself to simulate the Japan Cup situation for Mejiro McQueen.Of course, Sakura Baimu did much more for Mejiro McQueen than that.She simulated Mejiro McQueen's leading style, racing against Golden Crown Eagle while also carefully observing Golden Crown Eagle's running style.While not an exact replica, Sakura Baimu was confident she could mimic 70–80% of Golden Crown Eagle's performance from last night.If Mejiro McQueen's progress was truly slow, a mock run before the Japan Cup would be acceptable.However, if Sakura Baimu were really going to do a mock run for Mejiro McQueen, she would have to look so different that even her own mother wouldn't recognize her."Phew~ A certain older sister is really dedicated; it's a pity that a certain fat uma still hasn't recognized her."Sakura Baimu sighed inwardly, feeling like the most dedicated trainer in the world.She looked at her teammates and noticed their stunned expressions.“Trainer-san? You… you’re secretly keeping another Umamusume?” Mejiro McQueen asked suspiciously.Sakura Baimu: “???”---Chapter 117: Teiō, let's march onto the international stage!Sakura Baimu initially thought Mejiro McQueen was joking, but to her surprise, the team members all nodded in agreement after hearing this."I suspect it too! This kind of strategy is so detailed it's almost frightening!" Tokai Teio exclaimed with a horrified expression."Trainer-san, you didn't do anything illegal, did you? Falco thinks it's unnecessary to go to this extent..."Smart Falcon said hesitantly in a low voice."I think Miss McQueen is right. Does our Trainer-san know other Umamusumes, and has she run against Golden Crown Eagle several times?! I've never heard of such detailed tactics!" Satono Diamond's voice grew louder and louder."Trainer-san is keeping other Umamusumes on the side!!!" Kitasan Black also drew out her scream in horror.Sakura Baimu: “??????”Sakura Baimu was completely bewildered, but she quickly realized that bringing out her strategy guide at this time was a bit strange.But it was already July, and McQueen hadn't even gained the upper hand yet; she couldn't afford to delay any longer!“Alright, alright, you guys are all so outrageous. I'm practically starving supporting you all. Haven't you seen me eating all my meals at the academy's cafeteria? How am I supposed to afford to support other Umamusumes?”“That makes sense. Trainer-san is struggling financially.” Tokai Teio felt Sakura Baimu's words made sense, so she nodded, stroking her chin.“Trainer-san spent a lot of money on Rice Shower's treatment, and it seems the reimbursement approval hasn't come through yet,” Satono Diamond added softly."Hmph~~ I suspect Trainer-san has ulterior motives; she wants to recruit Rice Shower."Tokai Teio grinned mischievously, as if she saw right through Sakura Baimu."Stop, stop, stop!"Sakura Baimu quickly interrupted the increasingly absurd group of teammates, turning to Mejiro McQueen again. "McQueen, do you have any questions about the tactics?""There are no problems with the tactics. I'm just very curious how you managed to create such a detailed strategy guide, all in one night." Mejiro McQueen couldn't hide her curiosity.“Because your trainer is amazing. She only watched one of Golden Crown Eagle's matches and already figured out her tactics.”Sakura Baimu patted her chest, casually making something up, then continued.“Another thing to report. Last night I was at the hospital taking care of Rice Shower when I got the news that Queen Beret from the middle school has also been admitted.”Seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of the Umamusumes in the room, Sakura Baimu quickly gestured for them to stop, and continued.“I haven’t finished yet. Just like you all thought, it was that Golden Crown Eagle who did it.”“I knew it!” Mejiro McQueen exclaimed.“That’s so mean!” Kitasan Black’s usually cheerful face showed a hint of anger."This isn't over yet. Just hours after Queen Beret was hospitalized, another Umamusume was admitted. This time, it's the culprit behind the injuries to the Tracen Academy Umamusumes these past few days—Golden Crown Eagle.""What?!!" The Umamusumes were all shocked."Golden Crown Eagle is hospitalized?! How could her strength possibly match that of an active-duty Umamusume here?!"Mejiro McQueen's expression was even more astonished than when she heard about Queen Beret's hospitalization. She had personally experienced Golden Crown Eagle's strength; it was simply unbelievable.How could such a powerful Umamusume be hospitalized so soon after causing another Umamusume's hospitalization?"Could it be the Chairman?! Did the President intervene?!" Tokai Teio said excitedly."No... no way, as the President, she wouldn't personally get involved..." Smart Falcon said."Could it be Maruzen-senpai?" Kitasan Black exclaimed excitedly."Or maybe CB-senpai, or Narita-senpai?!" Satono Diamond guessed."I don't know for sure, but I bet it's some kind of Umamusume who's both handsome and beautiful, bursting with a sense of justice, and incredibly strong. Golden Crown Eagle got her comeuppance, suffering a minor injury, but it won't affect the Japan Cup." Sakura Baimu said, then looked at Tokai Teio."Oh, right, I have something else, Teiō!""Yes!""I'm planning to send you to the Breeders' Cup Turf tournament in the US this November. It's the number one Turf tournament in the US. No Japanese Umamusume has ever participated in it before.""!!!!!!!!!"Tokai Teio and the other Umamusumes from TCB were stunned by Sakura Baimu's bombshell announcement.They all stared in disbelief."I'm... I'm going to compete internationally?!"Tokai Teio suddenly felt a little scared; she had never left Japan before."Teio, you've already won three titles. It's not surprising that you want to go further and compete internationally, right?" Sakura Baimu said with a smile.“But... but I don’t want to end up like Suzuka-senpai from Spica, spending whole years abroad!! I don’t want to leave TCB!!! I don’t want to leave the president!!!”Tokai Teio’s face was pale, and she shook her head vigorously.“I didn’t say you’d stay abroad like Suzuka. I’m just letting you run one race. Just this one, and you’ll be back,” Sakura Baimu spoke with disdain.“I didn’t plan for you to go abroad either, but you’ve seen it, haven’t you? Since Pluto Academy’s Umamusumes came to Japan, they’ve been using all sorts of underhanded tactics without restraint.”“While McQueen defends Japan’s honor at the Japan Cup this year, I want you, Teiō, to win their most important race and show them how formidable Tracen Academy’s Umamusumes are!” Sakura Baimu said, smiling as she looked at Tokai Teio.With Sakura Baimu's words, the fear on Tokai Teio's face finally vanished, replaced by unwavering determination.She even felt a surge of excitement in her chest."I understand, Trainer-san! I'll do my best and win this race!"Tokai Teio nodded emphatically to Sakura Baimu."Go Teio, Teio! I'll be cheering for you!" Kitasan Black, Tokai Teio's devoted fan, looked at the internationally bound Tokai Teio with shining eyes and exclaimed excitedly."Hehe, that's a good girl," Sakura Baimu chuckled, ruffling Tokai Teio's hair again.After giving her instructions, Sakura Baimu reviewed them and, finding nothing missing, gave a brief overview. She then instructed her team members:"Alright, time to head to the racetrack. I wonder if you have any challenges today. If not, watch the races for a while, then head to training."Just as Sakura Baimu was about to leave the activity room, she suddenly heard Mejiro McQueen's voice from inside."Trainer-san, um... I wanted to mention something about what happened after my race yesterday afternoon."----Author's Note:The Breeders' Cup Classic in the United States is ranked fourth in the world by the International Federation of Horse Racing Organizations (FIA) as a Grade 1 race, and it boasts the highest prize money in the United States.Additionally, the Breeders' Cup has a "Win and You're In" system, where the winner of a major thoroughbred race worldwide automatically earns a spot in that year's Breeders' Cup.While there are no blood relatives in the Umamusume universe, Tokai Teio in reality is a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse.She is qualified to directly enter the race.---Chapter 118: This Trainer Can't Be KeptIn fact, Mejiro McQueen had been thinking about this all night and all morning.As someone who joined TCB even earlier than Tokai Teio, Sakura Baimu was truly her first trainer.Mejiro McQueen felt that her relationship with Sakura Baimu was even less intimate than that of Smart Falcon, who joined last.Sakura Baimu was undeniably kind to every Umamusume in the group.Furthermore, Sakura Baimu often had weird episodes.These episodes weren't limited to the Umamusumes in the group; they encompassed all the Umamusumes in Tracen Academy.As Tokai Teio had mentioned before, when Mejiro McQueen first joined, Sakura Baimu frequently tried to do things like pat her head as encouragement.Mejiro McQueen could clearly sense that Sakura Baimu's initial enthusiasm for her far exceeded that for Tokai Teio.She didn't understand why Sakura Baimu was so kind to her, but Sakura Baimu's enthusiasm did cause her some initial discomfort.In front of outsiders, Mejiro McQueen needed to maintain her dignity as the head of the Mejiro family, an Umamusume.Clearly, Sakura Baimu's childlike encouragement was unsuitable for her.Mejiro McQueen considered herself a capable adult, not like Tokai Teio, who seemed like a perpetual child.Furthermore, the things Sakura Baimu did to her were strikingly similar to those of her older sister, Mejiro Sakura, who had disappeared after leaving the Mejiro family.This made Mejiro McQueen even more resistant to these actions.After Mejiro McQueen firmly refused several times, Sakura Baimu seemed to understand the situation.Of course, Sakura Baimu didn't neglect Mejiro McQueen because of this; training continued as usual.The only difference was the lack of the affectionate gestures she showed.At first, Mejiro McQueen genuinely felt incredibly comfortable with their current dynamic.However, gradually...As Mejiro McQueen finally won the Spring Tenno Sho Championship, and even after winning her second and third Spring Tenno Sho Championships, achieving something no one had ever accomplished before, combined with her years of experience with her trainer, her trust in Sakura Baimu grew exponentially.She had long since accepted Sakura Baimu, a trainer not much older than herself.Although training at TCB was tough, Mejiro McQueen, having achieved her dream, found life at the academy far more enjoyable than at home.She would have various inexplicable episodes of illness that continued.And every now and then, like Gold Ship, she would come over and do strange things to her, making inexplicable teasing remarks.Although Mejiro McQueen felt incredibly helpless at the time,afterwards, what remained in her heart was not trouble, but rather happiness.Starting in April of this year, three new members joined TCB.Sakura Baimu still greeted each member with the same enthusiasm she had shown Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio.But there was one difference.Sakura Baimu would show that affectionate, encouraging behavior to all the other Umamusume members except Mejiro McQueen.This made Mejiro McQueen increasingly feel that she was missing something compared to the other members.Perhaps due to her tsundere nature and shyness, although Mejiro McQueen occasionally hoped for it, she never actively asked Sakura Baimu to pat her head or anything like that.Mejiro McQueen knew that Sakura Baimu held no grudge against her, and her enthusiasm toward her was no different from that of her other teammates, except for the lack of affectionate gestures.Therefore, she didn't harbor any negative feelings because of this.However, just last night after practice,Tokai Teio said that Sakura Baimu had tried to comfort her by patting her head after her loss in yesterday's match, but then withdrew her hand halfway.Mejiro McQueen was incredibly surprised to learn this.Because Mejiro McQueen had always assumed that Sakura Baimu, after listening to her, treated her like an adult and therefore stopped using those encouraging gestures that seemed more like those used toward a child.But after yesterday's incident,Mejiro McQueen realized that she might have only cared about her own feelings, neglecting Sakura Baimu's.Judging from Tokai Teio's description, since Sakura Baimu wanted to touch her but didn't dare yesterday, that meant this wasn't a one-off occurrence.It's very likely that over the years, Sakura Baimu had been wanting to make these intimate gestures toward her.Hearing Satono Diamond's comments about "her painstakingly trained Umamusume being afraid even to let her touch her head,"Mejiro McQueen felt an even greater sense of guilt.She thought back to all these years, how she had won six G1 championships with Sakura Baimu, achieving unprecedented consecutive Spring Tenno Sho titles and protecting the Mejiro family's honor.What Sakura Baimu received from her was nothing more than the meaningless title of "Youngest Prodigy Trainer" and a paltry sum of prize money.Most of that prize money was spent by Sakura Baimu on drinks and desserts, ending up back in their stomachs.So, in reality,Sakura Baimu truly gained nothing.For her, Sakura Baimu's affectionate behavior might have made her feel shy and troubled.But for Sakura Baimu, it was very likely that she derived pleasure and motivation from these intimate gestures.Conversely, was her refusal to let Sakura Baimu touch her head perhaps perceived as a sign of distance?Mejiro McQueen thought about it and felt increasingly sorry for Sakura Baimu.So, suppressing her shyness, she spoke to Sakura Baimu.“Trainer-san, um… I wanted to talk about something that happened after my match yesterday afternoon.”Hearing her voice, all the TCB team members, as well as Sakura Baimu, looked over.The only difference was that Sakura Baimu looked puzzled, while the TCB Umamusumes all had bright eyes.“What is it?” Sakura Baimu asked.“I heard from Teiō that… after my match yesterday, you wanted to pat my head…” Mejiro McQueen’s face gradually flushed.“Yes, you know, huh? Is it bothering you again?” Sakura Baimu chuckled.“No…” Mejiro McQueen felt a sudden pang of pain upon hearing this.As expected, Sakura Baimu thought that something like touching her head would bother her…“Um… if you don’t mind, um…”Mejiro McQueen’s face grew increasingly red, and her voice became softer and softer.These words were much harder to say than she had imagined.The TCB members all looked at Mejiro McQueen with encouraging eyes.And they were all silently cheering for Mejiro McQueen in their hearts:“Go for it, McQueen!”“Go for it, Miss McQueen!”Perhaps feeling the encouragement from her teammates, or perhaps Mejiro McQueen’s desire to make Sakura Baimu happy overcame her shyness.Mejiro McQueen finally closed her eyes, her face flushed, and blurted it out:“Actually, if Trainer-san wanted to touch my head yesterday, there’s absolutely no need to be afraid. I wouldn’t mind!”“Wow~~~”As Mejiro McQueen shouted these words, the other Umamusumes in the room all thought the same thing in unison:“McQueen actually said it!!”The team members all exclaimed inwardly.Sakura Baimu: “…”Mejiro McQueen, with her eyes closed, waited for Sakura Baimu’s reply.She slowly opened her eyes, and what she saw was Sakura Baimu’s disgusted expression."McQueen, are you misunderstanding something? You just finished a race yesterday, and you were sweating buckets from the shock. Your hair was all sticky.  definitely need to wash my hands if I touched it, so I didn't touch it. How disgusting!"Mejiro McQueen: "?"TCB members Umamusume: "??????????"Mejiro McQueen suddenly gritted her teeth, clenched her fist, and veins popped out on her forced smile.This trainer can't be kept!---Chapter 119: Full Body and Complete SpiritA moment later, the Canopus members, standing by the track, heard footsteps approaching.They turned around and saw members of TCB.Then, they were startled to see Mejiro McQueen, her face puffed out and her head turned away in an angry expression, and behind her, her trainer Sakura Baimu, limping and hissing in pain.The kind-hearted Matikanetannhauser's panic filled face guessed that this strange trainer had probably upset Mejiro McQueen.She ran to Sakura Baimu's side, her face full of concern, and asked."Sakura-san! Are you... are you alright? Are you okay? I'll take you to a doctor.""Waaah, my Mambo is so kind! If you didn't have a team, I would have definitely added you to mine. Thank you for your concern; I'm fine."Sakura Baimu thanked the lovely Matikanetannhauser for her concern and let out a series of dry whimpers.Matikanetannhauser, hearing Sakura Baimu's bluntness and the fact that she called her Mambo, blushed deeply.Then, seeing Sakura Baimu's seemingly nonchalant attitude, she realized that Sakura Baimu was faking it.Just as Matikanetannhauser was blushing and at a loss for what to do, she was suddenly pulled back by Nice Nature.“Don’t worry about her; it seems she’s been acting crazy every day and finally angered McQueen.” Nice Nature covered her mouth, chuckling at Sakura Baimu, finding it quite amusing.Upon hearing this, Sakura Baimu immediately sat up straight and shouted at Nice Nature.“Nice Nature? Extremely rude!”“Eh—! Did I say something wrong?” Nice Nature glared at Sakura Baimu.After arguing with several Umamusumes from Canopus for a while, Sakura Baimu returned to her group.Mejiro McQueen was clearly still angry; when she saw Sakura Baimu approaching, she turned her head away, completely ignoring her.Sakura Baimu found Mejiro McQueen somewhat amusing, then rubbed her still-aching back, her face twitching involuntarily."That unlucky kid really went all out..." Sakura Baimu thought to herself.She could easily understand what Mejiro McQueen was thinking. The way she'd spoken to her just now—it must have taken a tremendous amount of effort; her face was flushed red to the roots of her neck.Her own response could have easily diffused her shyness and embarrassment.If she had caught McQueen's throw, she could have gracefully backed down, avoiding losing her already diminished Mejiro family Umamusume authority in front of her teammates.Afterward, the two tacitly accepted the situation. Sakura Baimu could pat her head anytime—wasn't that wonderful?But unexpectedly, this idiot completely failed to realize that Sakura Baimu had deliberately said those words and even gave her an over-the-shoulder throw.Finally, Sakura Baimu came to a conclusion—For this idiot, arguing without making things clear was pointless.It might even have the opposite effect.“I’d like to see how long it takes you to recognize me,” Sakura Baimu thought to herself, amused.--A competition is currently underway in the arena.Today, the third day of the competition, is a mock competition involving many Umamusumes.A total of eight Umamusumes are participating, three of whom are from Pluto Academy.The competition is now in its later stages. Sakura Baimu observes the position of the gates and determines that this is a 2400m turf race."Now in first place is Habimini from Pluto Academy.""Closely following is Special Week!""Habimini, 400 Meter! She's still about four lengths behind Special Week!""Special Week, can you catch up?"Special Week and Habimini are sprinting toward the finish line on the final straight. Seeing this, Tokai Teio cups her hands and shouts to Special Week:"Spe-chan—! Go for it—!""Only 200 Meter left! Special Week is still about four lengths behind. Is this it?!"Sakura Bakushin O's words had barely left her lips when Special Week's pace faltered; then she suddenly accelerated.Special Week had already generated considerable momentum during her run, and with a final, controlled step before the finish line, her speed surged dramatically."She's exploded! Special Week has exploded! Special Week accelerated in under 200 Meter!""Two lengths! One length!""Special Week caught up with Habimini!""Special Week overtook Habimini!""Now, Special Week—""Crosses the finish line! Special Week is the champion!!"Amidst a roar of cheers from the crowd, Special Week ultimately triumphed over Habimini of Tracen Academy by a single length, winning the 2400 Meter turf friendly race.Several Umamusumes from TCB applauded Special Week from afar."Spe-chan's last step is still as powerful as ever! Always able to turn the tide," Tokai Teio said with a smile, clapping.“Wow~~ That’s Derby Umamusume, Special-senpai! So amazing!!” Kitasan Black’s eyes lit up, a hint of excitement in them.“That final acceleration, it was... so amazing! I feel like it’s just as good as Teio-san’s!” Satono Diamond’s golden eyes gleamed as she covered her mouth in surprise.“What’s wrong, Dia-chan? Intrigued?” Sakura Baimu chuckled. “Want to improve your final kick?”“Yeah, I feel like if I could have a sharp final kick like Teio-san or Special-senpai, I’d be much more confident in future races,” Satono Diamond said.“Hehe, I’ll teach you if you want. Trainer-san has been having you train with me, Dia-chan.” Tokai Teio grinned at Satono Diamond, her hands behind her head.“No way.”Sakura Baimu suddenly rejected Satono Diamond’s idea. “Teio’s knees and ankles are among the most flexible in the academy. Dia-chan, you can’t learn her explosive power.”“I see. That’s a shame, Dia-chan.” Tokai Teio smiled and patted Satono Diamond’s shoulder reassuringly.“But Special Week is different. Her final burst is far more powerful than any other Umamusume's final strike. Special Week's final strike can no longer be called a final strike; it's a higher level of ‘full-body, full-spirit.’”“If you want to learn, going to learn from Special Week isn't a bad idea. If Dia-chan can learn from her, your strength should improve significantly.”“Want to learn? Want to learn? If you want to learn, I'll take you to Spica to find Special Week.”Sakura Baimu suddenly leaned closer to Satono Diamond and asked with a smile.Perfect timing; she still had a system mission with Special Week that she had never completed.--Chapter 120: Trainer Sakura, Do You Know Ogura?Satono Diamond was about to agree, but seeing Sakura Baimu's sudden enthusiasm, she instantly sensed something was amiss.She looked at Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio and asked,"Trainer-san, have you done anything strange to Special-senpai?""Ah, yes, she often goes up to Spe-chan and asks her for things; it's really indescribable," Tokai Teio said."Why is that?" Satono Diamond asked, puzzled."She said she wanted to hear Spe-chan say 'No,'" Tokai Teio said, then looked at Sakura Baimu with disdain. "I don't know what your purpose is, Trainer-san, but you can't even do something this simple; you're so stupid!""Hey! Teio, don't you even think about who I'm doing this for!" Sakura Baimu retorted to Tokai Teio.“Trainer-san means it’s because of me? If you want Spe-chan to say ‘no,’ why don’t you just ask her for food?” Tokai Teio’s expression of disgust deepened.“Heh, you think I didn’t think of that? One day I saw Special Week walking around campus with a carrot, so I went up to her and told her I was hungry and wanted that carrot.”“And then?” Tokai Teio asked. “Spe-chan really likes carrots; she should have said ‘no,’ right?”“Then, Special Week broke the carrot in half and handed me the larger half.” Sakura Baimu chuckled, looking at Tokai Teio with the same disgusted expression.“Uh…”This development left Tokai Teio speechless for a moment. She thought for a moment, then tentatively asked,“How about asking her for the other half?”“I did, and then she looked at the half carrot in her hand with reluctance and gave it all to me.”Tokai Teio: “????”“Teio, don’t think that’s the end of it. The next day, Special Week came to my office with a whole box of carrots. She even told me to eat well, that she had plenty of carrots, and that I could ask her for more if I needed them.”Sakura Baimu sighed, then spoke to Tokai Teio.“Actually, Special Week is a very gentle Umamusume. I used to think she was fierce because of your misunderstanding, Teio! She'd even give up her favorite carrot.”“Uh…” Tokai Teio scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed.“I didn’t expect Spe-chan to be so good-natured. That was my mistake…”After saying that, Tokai Teio looked at Sakura Baimu.“Since Spe-chan is so good-natured, why don’t you just ask her to tell you ‘no’?”“I’ve tried, but I can’t yell with any force.” Sakura Baimu sighed.If you’re not fierce enough, you can’t complete the system task.“Then I don’t know. Trainer-san, you figure it out yourself.” Tokai Teio turned her head away helplessly. She really didn’t understand what Sakura Baimu was struggling with.This was probably the root of Sakura Baimu’s problem.“So, if Dia-chan wants to learn that full-body, all-around agility technique, which is even better than the last leg, I'll go with you to Special Week,” Sakura Baimu said to Satono Diamond, who was still completely bewildered.“Ah! Okay, then I'll leave it to Trainer-san,” Satono Diamond said gratefully, bowing deeply to Sakura Baimu.Just then, a familiar voice rang out.“Trainer Sakura!”Tokai Teio was the first to react upon hearing the voice.She turned around in surprise, waving excitedly in the direction of the voice.“President!!”Sakura Baimu turned around and saw Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove walking toward her.“Symboli Rudolf.”Sakura Baimu nodded respectfully to Symboli Rudolf, but she was actually a little flustered inside.Because, through a phone call with Symboli Rudolf yesterday, Sakura Baimu learned that Symboli Rudolf had also been watching the game last night.Sakura Baimu wears a hood when she runs, so it covers most of her face.However, she was not sure if anyone had seen her face.Like with Golden Crown Eagle, yesterday Sakura Baimu had a close encounter with her forehead, so her face was definitely seen.“I came to thank you for last night; it was so late, and I had to trouble you.”“It was nothing; I was at the hospital anyway,” Sakura Baimu nodded and smiled.“I came to let you know that a team has applied to your TCB for a team relay race,” Air Groove said, looking at Sakura Baimu.“A relay race? How many people? Of course, we’d be happy to participate,” Sakura Baimu smiled; she never refused a competition.Experience delivered right to her doorstep!“Five,” Air Groove said.Upon hearing Air Groove's statement, Sakura Baimu frowned slightly. "So, you want to challenge Dia-chan and Kita-chan along with them?""That's right. Normally, newly enrolled Umamusumes aren't allowed to challenge, but considering they applied for a relay race, I came to ask for your opinion.""How many Umamusumes have mastered their Zones?" Sakura Baimu looked at Symboli Rudolf."Three, but none of them are at the level of Golden Crown Eagle. Their overall strength is below Abyss's from yesterday.""Then, if Kita-chan and Dia-chan were to face those two Umamusumes without Zones, it seems like that would be alright..."Sakura Baimu thought to herself, deciding that getting some experience with strong Umamusumes beforehand wouldn't be a bad thing, and agreed."Then please tell me in a bit, Symboli Rudolf, which three Umamusumes activated their Zones.""Okay." Symboli Rudolf naturally had no objection.Then, she suddenly spoke to Sakura Baimu."Trainer Sakura, come with me for a moment."Sakura Baimu's heart skipped a beat. After nodding, she walked to the side under the questioning gazes of her teammates."Is there something you need, Symboli Rudolf?""Last night, the Umamusume who defeated the Golden Crown Eagle..."Symboli Rudolf stared at Sakura Baimu, causing Sakura Baimu's heart to race and making her feel incredibly nervous."Have I been recognized?"Sakura Baimu thought to herself, determined to deny it to the end, since she had hidden her ears and tail using the system.“Do you know that Umamusume named ‘Ogura’?” Symboli Rudolf asked.“Why do you ask?”“One night, Maruzensky and I witnessed Ogura practicing uphill, and then Teio and McQueen used it on the Takarazuka Kinen.”“…” Sakura Baimu remained silent, thinking to herself, “No wonder she’s the Emperor; she even notices that.”“So, I was wondering if it would be possible for Ogura to transfer to our academy?”--Chapter 121: Symboli Rudolf's Invitation

“Then let me ask her for you,” Sakura Baimu spoke to Symboli Rudolf.

“I invited her once before, but she refused. Ms. Sakura, do you know why?” Symboli Rudolf asked.

“Because she’s stopped running.” Sakura Baimu paused for a moment, then spoke slowly.

“Stopped running? But I clearly saw her still training, even coming over to train in the middle of the night.”

Symboli Rudolf looked at Sakura Baimu with suspicion.

If that “Oguri” really hadn’t stopped running, why would she still come over to train in the middle of the night?

Look at Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap, eating and drinking every day—that’s the life of a retired Umamusume.

Therefore, Symboli Rudolf didn’t believe Sakura Baimu’s words.

“I think she still has a passion for the competition. Such a hardworking and diligent Umamusume shouldn’t be wasted!”

Thinking about how “Ogura” only dared to run inside the academy in the middle of the night, Symboli Rudolf couldn’t help but feel a desire to help her.

Hearing Symboli Rudolf’s high praise, Sakura raised an eyebrow and spoke calmly.

“You flatter her a bit. She doesn’t deserve such praise.”

“No! I think she absolutely does!” Symboli Rudolf affirmed.

“'Ogura’s’ training environment must have been incredibly tough, yet she persevered under such difficult conditions and reached this level. I’m certain her talent is no less than that of the Heisei Three!”

Sakura Baimu raised an eyebrow again, and her invisible tail twitched slightly.

“Not at all, really not at all,” Sakura Baimu said again.

“I don’t know why you don’t trust Ogura, Ms. Sakura, but I believe she is an exceptionally talented Umamusume. Even in the elite Tracen Academy, she would be among the top talents!”

Upon seeing Sakura Baimu still hesitant, Symboli Rudolf suddenly became anxious.

“Ms. Sakura, you are still very young, even younger than me. But I assure you, with my standing in the Japanese horse racing world, my judgment is never wrong! Oguri Cap was recruited from Kasamatsu to Chuo, which led to the current Heisei Three. That Ogura is exceptionally talented; please seriously consider my words!”

Sakura Baimu was overjoyed listening to Symboli Rudolf’s words.

This was the evaluation of "Emperor" Rudolf!

The evaluation of a Umamusume at the pinnacle of the elite Tracen Academy!

Speak more if you can!

Sakura Baimu had thoroughly enjoyed herself today, her mood was absolutely fantastic.

Symboli Rudolf was an authority in the Japanese uma racing world, and Sakura Baimu wouldn’t question her words, readily accepting them.

Sakura Baimu nodded emphatically to Symboli Rudolf with a serious expression.

"Symboli Rudolf, I think you’re absolutely right. Ogura is exactly that kind of Umamusume, without a doubt."

"So...?" Symboli Rudolf asked excitedly.

"But unfortunately, this is really very difficult to accomplish." Sakura Baimu shook her head again.

She was already banned from racing; what can she even do after attending Tracen as a student?

Going to the academy to learn things she already knows every day, training with other trainers, and then not being able to compete?

That’s not as comfortable as being a trainer.

"Ms. Sakura, is Ogura having some difficulties?"

Hearing Sakura Baimu’s refusal, Rudolf sensed something was wrong. She placed her right hand on her chest and assured her.

"Tell me, and if I can do it, I will do my best."

Sakura Baimu was somewhat moved by Symboli Rudolf’s persistence.

She gently shook her head. "If even the chairman can’t do it, Symboli Rudolf, you can’t either."

Although Symboli Rudolf held authority and influence in the Japanese uma racing world, as the student council president of Central Tracen Academy, she naturally wielded considerable power.

However, she was still significantly inferior to Akikawa Yayoi.

Sakura Baimu’s directness was intended to dissuade Symboli Rudolf.

She couldn’t possibly tell Symboli Rudolf that "Ogura" was banned. After all, there aren’t many Umamusumes banned in Japan. If Symboli Rudolf found her past self, wouldn’t she be exposed?

The name Sakura Baimu might not seem suspicious to those unfamiliar with it.

However, if you compare Sakura Baimu’s original name, "Mejiro Sakura," with "Sakura Baimu," her identity becomes easily revealed.

Rather, it’s truly unbelievable that someone like Mejiro McQueen hasn’t discovered it yet.

Symboli Rudolf was startled by Sakura Baimu’s words; she hadn’t realized the situation was far more serious than she had imagined.

"I see..."

Symboli Rudolf sighed, feeling quite regretful.

She asked one last question:

"So, now she can only run at night, doing something like a logistics assistant?"

"Yes." Sakura Baimu nodded.

"She must be very resentful, right?"

"I don’t think so. After all, she has helped a lot of people."

"Okay, I understand."

Symboli Rudolf finally dismissed the idea, but at the same time, she became even more curious about the identity of "Ogura."

It’s rare for something like being unable to compete—something even the chairman couldn’t solve—to occur.

Symboli Rudolf and Sakura Baimu returned to TCB and heard Tokai Teio calling out to her again.

“President~! What did you talk about with Trainer-san?”

“Nothing much, just some things about the competition,” Symboli Rudolf replied with a smile.

She sensed that the TCB members were unaware of “Ogura’s” existence, so she intentionally kept it a secret for Sakura Baimu.

“How rare! The president is actually discussing competition matters with Trainer-san!”

Tokai Teio drawled, then excitedly told Symboli Rudolf,

“President, listen to me! Trainer-san wants to register me for the Breeders' Cup Classic in America!”

Symboli Rudolf immediately looked at Sakura Baimu in surprise, instantly understanding that Sakura Baimu still harbored resentment toward Pluto Academy and therefore wanted Tokai Teio to participate in their highest-level competition!

That temper of hers is really something.

Symboli Rudolf suddenly felt that Sakura Baimu’s temper seemed familiar.

To be precise, wasn’t it exactly the same as “Ogura” from last night?

--

Chapter 122: Moment of Cold Jokes

“Speaking of which, that Ogura wasn’t a Umamusume from Tracen Academy, but she was lured there because a Umamusume from Tracen Academy was injured…”

“So, it was Ms. Sakura who called Ogura to the academy to compete with that Golden Crown Eagle?”

“How did Golden Crown Eagle know that injuring a Umamusume from the academy would lure Ogura out? Does she know Ms. Sakura? Or does she know Ogura’s identity?”

Symboli Rudolf felt like she had grasped some clue.

She suddenly made a decision.

That was to meet that Golden Crown Eagle.

She was so shocked by the strength “Ogura” displayed in her match against Golden Crown Eagle last night that she was quite curious about “Ogura.”

“Alright, then you all prepare well. I’ll go back and inform the Umamusume from Pluto Academy that you accepted the challenge.”

Air Groove nodded to Sakura Baimu and the others, then prepared to follow Symboli Rudolf back.

“Wait a minute, Symboli Rudolf!”

Sakura Baimu suddenly called out to Symboli Rudolf again.

With this loud call, a bad premonition rose in the hearts of everyone, including Air Groove, the TCB members, and the four Umamusumes from Canopus standing nearby.

Sakura Baimu then turned to Nice Nature and asked with a smile.

“Seriously, do you have any younger siblings?”

“Yes…yes, what do you want?” Nice Nature asked warily.

“Oh, then Nice Nature, you really are a nice nee-chan.”

“Pfft—” Symboli Rudolf burst out laughing.

“That’s a good joke, I’ll remember it.”

At this moment, her imposing manner softened considerably, replaced by a gentler demeanor.

“Me too…”

Symboli Rudolf watched with amusement as Nice Nature stared blankly at Sakura Baimu’s lame joke, then her gaze shifted.

She pointed at Nice Nature and the blue-haired, twin-tailed Twin Turbo and said softly.

“Nice Turbo!”

“Haha.” Sakura Baimu laughed heartily.

“Haha.” Symboli Rudolf narrowed her eyes and laughed elegantly.

Instantly, a joyful atmosphere filled the space between Sakura Baimu and Symboli Rudolf.

However, everyone around the two, laughing happily, felt a chill run down their spines in the sweltering July heat.

Apart from Nice Nature, Twin Turbo, and Air Groove, all three's mood were [Great].

Now, Nice Nature, Twin Turbo, and Air Groove's moods we're all instantly [Awful].

[Mission Accomplished: Make Symboli Rudolf laugh, +100 System Points]

[Mission Accomplished: Make Air Groove have an Awful Mood, +50 System Points]

With the daily mission notification appearing again, Sakura Baimu was quite satisfied.

Although the points weren’t many, every little bit helps.

Little by little, it adds up.

After seeing off Symboli Rudolf, who was in a wonderful mood, Sakura Baimu felt her own mood improve considerably.

She turned around. "Alright, you all heard that, right? The relay race is starting soon! Go get ready; it’s our turn soon! Good luck!"

Sakura Baimu encouraged her team, only to find that her Umamusumes were in extremely poor spirits.

A group of them stood there dejectedly, radiating a strong sense of gloom.

"What’s wrong with you guys?"

"Trainer-san, don’t you know what’s going on?!" the TCB Umamusumes shouted in unison.

"Oh no, we forgot we have a race soon."

Sakura Baimu was startled. With such poor morale, the race was going to be a disaster!

"Let’s go, I’ll treat the whole team to a cream parfait!"

"The match is about to start, what’s the point of eating?!" several team members shouted again, finding Sakura Baimu’s thought process unbelievable.

Sakura Baimu’s intermittent bouts of illness were incurable.

A moment later, Sakura Baimu’s phone suddenly received a message.

She opened it and saw it was from Symboli Rudolf, listing the names of the five contestants and their rankings.

Three of their names were specially marked, apparently belonging to those who had mastered the Zone of Umamusume.

“Alright, we know the opponents' situation. Their first, fourth, and fifth batters are all Umamusumes with a Zone. Kita-chan and Dia-chan, you two will be the second and third batters respectively. The rest of you three can decide among yourselves.”

“Eh, wait! Falco doesn’t have a Zone either!” Smart Falcon exclaimed.

“No problem. Even if you don’t have a Zone, you’re still a Umamusume in the advanced division. It’s fine!”

“Then… Falco will be the fourth batter?” Smart Falcon hesitated.

She didn’t dare accept the responsibility of the first or last batter, so she chose a compromise.

“Then I’ll be the first batter,” Mejiro McQueen said leisurely.

“I’ll run the last batter,” Tokai Teio said with a smile.

Sakura Baimu nodded, edited her assigned batter order, and sent it to Symboli Rudolf.

“Let’s use this last bit of time to talk to Kita-chan and Dia-chan, who haven’t participated in relays before. The main thing to pay attention to in relays is…”

Sakura Baimu pulled out a map from her phone and explained the relay race rules to Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond, who had just joined the team.

Smart Falcon had previously hosted BNW relay races, but she still took this opportunity to catch up, listening carefully to Sakura Baimu’s explanation.

…

“Alright, that’s it. Kita-chan and Dia-chan, you two don’t need to feel too much pressure. Competing against strong opponents will help you improve very quickly. Even if you fall behind, it’s okay; just make sure you finish the race.”

“Got it, Trainer-san!”

“I understand.”

Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond nodded in unison.

“I won’t even mention McQueen and Teio, but you… don’t always be so insecure. You’re clearly very strong.”

Sakura Baimu patted Smart Falcon on the shoulder again, encouraging her.

“Yeah, Falco will do her best.” Smart Falcon nodded emphatically, her two chestnut-colored pigtails bouncing merrily.

--

“The highly anticipated team relay friendly match is about to begin!”

“The Pluto Academy team BlackHole (BH) will face off against Tracen Academy’s TCB.”

“Now, the five members of both teams are standing in their starting positions.”

"The first leg is between TCB's Mejiro McQueen and BH's Flying Rabbit."

"Team relay friendly match, now—"

"Start!"

--

Chapter 123: Mejiro McQueen Is Unhappy

In a spectator section of Tracen Academy's stands.

Dressed in a sassy style, with blonde hair and starry eyes, retired American Umamusume Obey Your Master rested her chin on her hand, watching the Umamusume—Flying Rabbit—enter the starting position.

Obey Your Master looked tired, with faint dark circles under her eyes, clearly having stayed up all night.

Just then, another Umamusume, with fiery red hair and a white highlight in her bangs, sat down next to Obey Your Master and spoke softly.

"Obey Your Master, why are you so sleepy?"

"I spent all night checking Japanese match information, watching almost all the top three in their G1 matches, but I still couldn't find anyone who matched the Umamusume from last night." Obey Your Master finished speaking and let out a big yawn.

“Why don’t we just ask Golden Crown Eagle? We can go to the hospital to see her after school,” the red-haired Umamusume Urban Sea suggested to Obey Your Master.

“She probably doesn’t know,” Obey Your Master shook her head.

Just now, after BH and TCB applied for the relay race, she gathered all the Umamusumes from Pluto Academy and told them what had happened last night, including that Golden Crown Eagle had been hospitalized with a broken bone.

Almost all the Umamusumes, upon hearing Obey Your Master say that a Umamusume who hadn’t mastered the skill had defeated Golden Crown Eagle and even intimidated her with her aura, were utterly incredulous, their eyes and mouths agape.

Even the two retired Umamusumes beside Obey Your Master were the same.

“To be honest, I still can’t believe what you’re saying,” Urban Sea said to Obey Your Master. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Didn’t you see Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen defeat Abyss’s Cattleya and Bonnie yesterday with sheer skill?”

“But their Zones are nowhere near Golden Crown Eagle’s,” Urban Sea said softly. “Are you sure this isn’t some retired Japanese legend here to stomp on weaker opponents? Take Maruzensky, for example. She was born with a Zone, but no one has ever been strong enough to force her to activate it. She’s been treating matches like child’s play and hasn’t lost a single time.”

“Do you think I wouldn’t recognize Hotrod?” Obey Your Master retorted. “Besides, the aura emanating from an Umamusume with a Zone is completely different from one without. You can tell at a glance.”

“Losing at the ordinary level is one thing, but for someone at Golden Crown Eagle’s level to be beaten by an Umamusume without a Zone? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Neither have I.” Obey Your Master shook her head with a smile.

"In short, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. The Golden Crown Eagle incident is a huge blow to the active-duty Umamusumes. You shouldn't have revealed the truth directly; it will cause them panic and undermine their confidence!"

Urban Sea looked angry, quite dissatisfied with Obey Your Master for revealing last night's events so readily.

"What's the point of hiding this? It's better to let them face reality sooner rather than later. Don't look down on them just because they don't have a Zone. Their strongest member this year can't even maintain a gap against them."

--

In the arena, Mejiro McQueen stood at the entrance of the outer 2000-meter track, wearing a ring-shaped strap used as a relay baton.

Next to her was another tall Umamusume named Flying Rabbit.

At this moment, Flying Rabbit and Mejiro McQueen were doing their final warm-up exercises. During this time, she secretly glanced at the Umamusume, the former strongest active-duty member who had led the entire previous day against Cattleya and Bonnie.

Flying Rabbit was initially extremely reluctant to face the Umamusume, who was clearly stronger than her.

During this trip to Japan, even Cattleya, ranked second in strength, couldn't defeat Mejiro McQueen; naturally, she couldn't either.

However, Obey Your Master suddenly appeared and told them a lot about Golden Crown Eagle from last night.

She mentioned an Umamusume who, simply by controlling her aura, could intimidate Golden Crown Eagle into losing her will to fight.

She didn't know her name or appearance.

The only thing they knew was that the Umamusume was terrifyingly strong and hadn't activated her Zone.

Upon hearing this, Flying Rabbit's reluctance vanished instantly. She suddenly felt that facing Mejiro McQueen wasn't so bad after all.

"This Mejiro McQueen is definitely not that Umamusume. Not only she didn't possess a Zone, she didn't even have control on her aura, and she still lost to Golden Crown Eagle," Flying Rabbit thought with secret delight.

While she certainly didn't want to fall behind in this round, she'd rather lose than be injured and hospitalized.

"TCB is short-handed, so they had to let two newcomers like the Umamusume fill in, making victory quite likely."

Flying Rabbit observed Mejiro McQueen and noticed that the usually aloof and sophisticated Mejiro McQueen seemed to be in a bad mood today.

Just as Flying Rabbit noticed, Mejiro McQueen was indeed not in a good mood.

The main reason was Sakura Baimu's unromantic remarks in the event room earlier and the lame joke Sakura Baimu told Symboli Rudolf before going on stage.

Mejiro McQueen suddenly felt incredibly stupid for even trying to understand Sakura Baimu's thoughts.

Sakura Baimu was either having an episode or on her way to one.

Who could know what she was thinking every day?

Mejiro McQueen grew increasingly angry, then caught a glimpse of Flying Rabbit's smug expression out of the corner of her eye and felt her anger flare up even more.

"Mejiro McQueen and Flying Rabbit are ready."

"The next runners, Kitasan Black and Heavy Metal Mud, are also at the finish line, ready."

"The race—begins!"

With the signal, Mejiro McQueen and Flying Rabbit simultaneously sprinted off from the starting line.

Just as Flying Rabbit was mentally calculating how to maintain distance in the early stages and accelerate towards the end, she noticed that Mejiro McQueen had already surged ahead.

Mejiro McQueen's leading speed was significantly faster than during her race against Golden Crown Eagle yesterday.

"What's going on? Why is she so fast right from the start?!" Flying Rabbit was incredibly surprised.

"Oh my! Mejiro McQueen is still leading, but for some reason, she looks unhappy, and she's running incredibly fast in the early stages!"

--

Chapter 124: Huge Gap in Strength

The relay race is 8000 meters long, starting at the entrance to the outer track, with four exchanges at the finish line, the pre-finish steep climb, the heart-stopping steep climb, and the finish line itself.

The first and last runners, Umamusume, run the 2000-meter middle-distance course.

The second runner, Umamusume, runs 1700 meters, the third 1000 meters, and the fourth 1300 meters.

Mejiro McQueen's leading speed this time is very fast, even faster than in yesterday's races against Abyss and Golden Crown Eagle.

Even with Sakura Baimu's enhanced horseshoes, her ability shouldn't have improved so dramatically in such a short time.

Mejiro McQueen's reason for running so fast is, of course, to vent her frustration.

"Since yesterday, Mejiro McQueen has chosen a leading pace for three consecutive races. And each time, she has managed to build a significant advantage in the opening!"

"Could it be that Mejiro McQueen is changing her running style? Is she trying to switch from a pace-chaser to a front-runner?"

"Now, Mejiro McQueen is six lengths ahead of Flying Rabbit!"

Flying Rabbit watched Mejiro McQueen's retreating figure and felt a growing sense of urgency.

If it were a race with many Umamusumes, it wouldn't be so bad.

But in this almost one-on-one relay race, being left so far behind in the opening is truly frustrating.

She knew Mejiro McQueen would lose speed, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly when she would run out of energy.

Therefore, Flying Rabbit had no choice but to pick up the pace in the opening.

"Flying Rabbit is accelerating too!"

"Mejiro McQueen has entered the straight and is heading towards the steep climb!"

"For Mejiro McQueen, a long-distance specialist, the 2000-meter middle-distance race seems like a lot of leeway!"

Soon, Mejiro McQueen reached the top of the steep climb and then charged forward while maintaining her speed.

Most of the Tracen Academy Umamusumes present were already used to Mejiro McQueen's climbing speed.

After being amazed so many times, they were no longer surprised.

However, for the American Umamusume, Mejiro McQueen's climbing technique still caught their attention.

"That posture!!"

Obey Your Master, who had watched Sakura Baimu's race against Golden Crown Eagle the previous night, was stunned to see Mejiro McQueen's climbing technique—which barely sacrificed speed and relied purely on her strong will to withstand the immense pressure—and immediately stood up in astonishment.

"What's wrong, Obey Your Master?" Urban Sea was puzzled by Obey Your Master's excitement.

Mejiro McQueen's climbing technique was impressive, but was it really necessary to be this surprised?

"I knew I'd seen that Umamusume climbing technique somewhere before! It turns out it was the same technique Mejiro McQueen used in her race against Golden Crown Eagle yesterday afternoon!"

Combined with the fact that she had also seen Tokai Teio use the same climbing technique in her race against Abyss's Umamusume the previous day.

Obey Your Master immediately realized that TCB was likely connected to the Umamusume from the previous night.

She directly shouted to the BH Umamusumes who were leisurely waiting for their fourth and fifth batons:

"The Umamusume I told you about this morning, the one who beat Golden Crown Eagle, is probably connected to TCB! Pay attention!"

The two BH Umamusumes were startled upon hearing Obey Your Master's voice.

"Really...really? Obey Your Master, how did you know?!" The fifth baton exchanger, American Durian, shouted at Obey Your Master.

"Their uphill posture is exactly the same!"

"Ah!!!"

The fourth baton exchanger, BH Umamusume Miracle Fantasy, suddenly turned pale and let out a gasp.

"Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen are definitely not the Umamusume who beat Golden Crown Eagle last night. Their skills aren't comparable to Golden Crown Eagle's."

"Then Obey Your Master said that the Umamusume has connections with TCB, and that Umamusume, who's in charge of the second and third batters for TCB, is supposedly a newcomer..."

"So the last remaining Umamusume, the Smart Falcon that terrified Lilian from Abyss, is the one I'm running with?!?!"

Miracle Fantasy hadn't followed Abyss's race yesterday.

But she had heard that Lilian was so scared before the race that she almost withdrew.

And after finishing the race, she was even more terrified of that Smart Falcon and cried.

Later, Lilian from Abyss even gave that Smart Falcon the nickname "Demon Lord Falcon," showing just how much psychological damage that Umamusume had caused her.

"No... it can't be such a coincidence, right? I just happened to run into it? This... this can't be real, right?"

Miracle Fantasy was suddenly plunged into deep self-doubt.

--

"Flying Rabbit has reached the third bend, and she's starting to accelerate!!"

"The distance between her and Mejiro McQueen is gradually closing!"

Flying Rabbit's gaze was now fixed intently on Mejiro McQueen's back, her body already creating a gust of wind.

The 8-length gap was gradually being closed by Flying Rabbit to about 6 lengths.

Having personally experienced Mejiro McQueen's strength, she couldn't help but feel a chill.

Her normal acceleration speed wasn't much faster than Mejiro McQueen's normal speed.

"Is the difference in strength really that big?"

Flying Rabbit was shocked, but at that moment, she saw Mejiro McQueen, having reached the final straight, suddenly surge forward.

"Mejiro McQueen's final straight-line acceleration! That's incredible!"

"Mejiro McQueen wasn't discouraged after losing to Golden Crown Eagle yesterday; her speed hasn't been affected at all!"

"Her final straight-line acceleration is still terrifying!"

Some retired Umamusumes from Tracen Academy in the arena, seeing that Mejiro McQueen hadn't been discouraged by yesterday's defeat, immediately felt relieved.

Flying Rabbit, caught off guard, found herself once again far behind Mejiro McQueen.

She gritted her teeth and activated her Zone.

She stomped heavily on the ground and then rapidly caught up.

"Flying Rabbit accelerated again! But the gap between her and Mejiro McQueen hasn't narrowed."

"400 meters left! Mejiro McQueen has pulled far ahead of Flying Rabbit!"

"So fast! Mejiro McQueen is even faster than yesterday!"

Flying Rabbit's eyes burned with rage. While enduring the discomfort of activating her Zone, she realized she truly couldn't close the gap with Mejiro McQueen.

Her confidence as a Zone user was rapidly eroded in this match against Mejiro McQueen.

"It's okay... their second and third batters are both rookie Umamusumes!"

---

Chapter 125: Maruzensky's Curiosity

"Mejiro McQueen, your speed has suddenly slowed down! Did you really run too fast at the beginning?"

Suddenly, Sakura Bakushin O, the commentator, shouted in utter shock.

Immediately, gasps of surprise echoed through the arena from many Tracen Academy Umamusume members.

This was the first time in a long time that they had seen Mejiro McQueen lose her pace and slow down.

"Was it because she ran too fast at the beginning?"

"For Mejiro McQueen, who excels in long-distance races, suddenly switching to a 2000-meter race will definitely affect her stamina distribution!"

"Flying Rabbit is finally closing the gap with Mejiro McQueen."

"Mejiro McQueen, only 200 meters left!"

At this moment, Mejiro McQueen in the arena was panting heavily, her eyes even becoming unfocused, and her brain was already in a state of oxygen deprivation.

After the frenzied leading, the dopamine released from the exercise definitely improved Mejiro McQueen's mood considerably.

However, the price she paid was that she lost momentum in the final stages of the race due to exhaustion.

Listening to Sakura Bakushin O's commentary and hearing faint footsteps behind her, Mejiro McQueen desperately tried to maintain her pace.

Finally, she reached the worried-looking Kitasan Black and handed her sash to her at the finish line.

"Go for it, Kita-chan!"

Mejiro McQueen spoke, and then watched as Kitasan Black sprinted off.

"Mejiro McQueen has completed the first baton exchange. She had built a significant lead, but lost momentum and was caught up considerably."

"Even so, Mejiro McQueen still holds a large advantage."

"Kitasan Black is a recent Umamusume; I have to admire her courage to take on challenges!"

"Flying Rabbit has also exchanged batons! Lily is chasing Kitasan Black!"

Mejiro McQueen stood there catching her breath for a while, finally feeling a bit of her resentment dissipate.

She glanced at Kitasan Black sprinting desperately in the arena, then turned to look at the stands, where she saw Sakura Baimu smiling and waving at her, as if urging her to come back quickly.

"Hmph."

Mejiro McQueen snorted, deciding to cheer for Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond from the sidelines.

--

Kitasan Black was now even faster than during her debut race.

But even so, Lily was rapidly closing the gap behind her.

"Wow, that's impressive!"

Kitasan Black accelerated desperately, trying to prolong the time before she was overtaken.

"Kitasan Black has already passed the second corner, and Lily is catching up right away! She still has about a seven-length advantage."

"Kitasan Black's speed is already quite good, but she still has a considerable gap compared to the veteran Umamusume."

"Oh, Kitasan Black slowed down slightly on the steep climb!"

Because her body hadn't undergone much training, Kitasan Black hadn't yet mastered the climbing techniques of Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen.

Sakura Baimu taught her and Satono Diamond a running style that minimized cardiac stress.

The main purpose was to prevent heart damage on steep slopes.

“Different, definitely different.” Miracle Fantasy, responsible for the fourth leg exchange, observed Kitasan Black's climbing technique and confirmed that the Umamusume's approach differed from Mejiro McQueen's.

“Kitasan Black has entered the third turn, and Lily is getting closer!”

“She has overtaken! Lily has overtaken Kitasan Black!”

“Lily continues to accelerate! She has reached the slope before the finish line first and handed the relay to the single-player.”

“Kitasan Black has finally exchanged with Satono Diamond, who is about seven lengths ahead!”

After receiving the relay strap, Satono Diamond quickly put it on and resolutely ran forward.

--

Meanwhile, Maruzensky approached Symboli Rudolf again.

"Oh dear, Air Groove, what's wrong? You look terrible. Shouldn't you go and rest?" Maruzensky asked with concern.

"No, it's nothing," Air Groove quickly replied.

“Eh? Air Groove, are you feeling unwell?” Symboli Rudolf turned around as well.

“No!!” Air Groove quickly perked up when she saw Symboli Rudolf looking at her.

Although she was often annoyed by Symboli Rudolf's lame jokes, she couldn't let the president find out.

“That's good.” Symboli Rudolf smiled slightly and then looked at Maruzensky.

“Maruzensky, you're here.”

“Yes.” Maruzensky walked to Symboli Rudolf's side and whispered in her ear.

“Did you get the answer?”

“Ms. Sakura rejected me. Ms. Ogura has a special reason why she can't join our academy; it's a problem that even the chairman of the board can't solve. So now Ms. Ogura can only do something like logistics work at the school.”

“Even the chairman of the board couldn't solve it?!”

Maruzensky was surprised; she knew what kind of status Akikawa Yayoi held in the Japanese uma racing world.

“Could she have offended someone? But if she has connections with the chairman, she shouldn't be afraid to go for a run.” Maruzensky wondered. “Could she have broken the law?”

“I don’t know. Ms. Sakura is very tight-lipped and won’t reveal the reason at all.”

“But surely she wouldn’t hide her identity? How could someone with her skill remain unknown? I checked, and there’s no record of this ‘Okura’ in any competitions,” Maruzensky said, puzzled.

“Rudolf, look, Ogura was willing to step in and hit Golden Crown Eagle because an Umamusume from Tracen Academy was hurt. And she even held back, not turning Golden Crown Eagle into something like Rice Shower. That means she's probably a pretty kind-hearted Pony-chan.”

“So it's unlikely she broke the law,” Symboli Rudolf said. “I'm going to the hospital tonight to see Golden Crown Eagle. Want to come?”

“Oh right, her too! Okay, Rudolf, I'll go with you. Let's go early and come back early; we can't miss Ogura's training session tonight.”

Maruzensky stroked her cheek, her blue eyes filled with curiosity.

“Aren't we scaring her so much that she'll never come to training again?” Symboli Rudolf sighed. “She seems quite shy.”

“I don’t think so,” Maruzensky shook her head. “Since she gave us a name we can’t find and didn’t dare let us see her face, it’s very likely that the identity of that ‘Ogura’ is completely fake.”

“I’m getting more and more curious about that little Umamusume,” Maruzensky chuckled.

---

Chapter 126: Smart Falcon is the mysterious Umamusume?!

After the single-player race and Satono Diamond's race, Miracle Fantasy and Smart Falcon, the fourth runners, took to the field.

"Hello, my name is Smart Falcon. I'm the cute Umadol; you can call me Falco☆!" Smart Falcon introduced herself to Miracle Fantasy.

"Ah! Hello, I'm Miracle Fantasy."

Miracle Fantasy thought to herself, "How can Smart Falcon not feel embarrassed about calling herself cute?"

After observing Smart Falcon up close, she did understand some things.

For example, Smart Falcon really didn't control her aura.

She suddenly remembered hearing someone say yesterday that Abyss's Lilian was so frightened by Smart Falcon that she couldn't even stand up, sitting on the ground wailing uncontrollably.

This clearly showed that Smart Falcon controlled her aura.

Furthermore, Smart Falcon is an Umamusume from the advanced department...

"More powerful than McQueen and Teio, no domain, imposing presence, ruthless methods, a member of the TCB..."

Miracle Fantasy grew increasingly alarmed. Smart Falcon's attributes perfectly matched the Umamusume Obey Your Master had mentioned—the one who had sent Golden Crown Eagle to the hospital.

While Obey Your Master, Symboli Rudolf, and Maruzensky were all speculating about the identity of "Ogura" from last night,

Miracle Fantasy, standing on the field, felt as if she had suddenly discovered an incredible secret.

"This Smart Falcon—is she the Umamusume who sent Golden Crown Eagle to the hospital?!"

"According to Obey Your Master, last night that Umamusume had a huge advantage, but deliberately braked before the finish line, waiting for Golden Crown Eagle to pass before overtaking her with momentum..."

"Then Golden Crown Eagle was so frightened that she lost her will to fight."

Miracle Fantasy recalled Obey Your Master's description of the mysterious Umamusume's actions in last night's race and felt increasingly convinced of the opponent's ruthless and terrifying methods.

"What if this Smart Falcon really is that Umamusume from last night... If I get ahead of her, doesn't that mean she'll overtake me from behind?"

Their leg is only 1300 meters, a very short distance.

Although Lily established an advantage in the second leg, the third leg is only 1000 meters, so even if a solo runner is incredibly fast, it's difficult to create a gap large enough for her to complete the fifth leg handover before Smart Falcon even starts.

Her pace is far weaker than Golden Crown Eagle's; they're not even in the same league.

Miracle Fantasy never thought she could maintain a lead against the Umamusume pace chaser from last night.

Being caught up is practically a foregone conclusion.

“No, we can’t make such a hasty judgment.”

Miracle Fantasy suddenly felt that equating Smart Falcon so easily with the Umamusume who had defeated Golden Crown Eagle was far too hasty.

She had to confirm again.

“Um… I wanted to ask, do you know anything about last night…?”

“Last night…? Oh, you mean when Golden Crown Eagle was taken to the hospital? What happened?” Smart Falcon looked at Miracle Fantasy with a puzzled expression.

“!!!” Miracle Fantasy was startled; Smart Falcon really did know.

“Obey Your Master said that besides that person, Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky were also present from Tracen Academy last night.”

“The latter two would never have publicized the fact that their own academy's Umamusume had run themselves ragged trying to find an overseas Umamusume.”

“Therefore, the only person who knows about this can be the mysterious Umamusume herself.”

“Or rather, it was the Umamusume who competed against Golden Crown Eagle who revealed Golden Crown Eagle's hospitalization!”

Miracle Fantasy's heart sank at this moment.

She still clung to a last shred of hope and slowly asked.

“Then do you know why she was suddenly taken to the hospital?”

Upon hearing this, Smart Falcon recalled what Sakura Baimu had said to her in the activity room earlier and replied with a smile.

"It's because of an Umamusume who is both handsome and beautiful, bursting with a sense of justice, and incomparably strong!"

Miracle Fantasy, hearing Smart Falcon's words, suddenly felt relieved.

"It can't be her; how could anyone describe themselves like that..."

Miracle Fantasy, having barely caught her breath, realized something was wrong again.

"Wait, this Smart Falcon just described herself like that too! She said she was a cute Umadol!!"

"Others wouldn't praise themselves like that, but this Smart Falcon does!"

"Then she wasn't describing someone else, but indirectly praising herself through self-praise!!"

Miracle Fantasy was utterly astonished; this was the first time she had encountered such a shameless Umamusume.

"If you did it yourself, you did it yourself. You knew perfectly well, yet you acted all mysterious, spouting all that about being both handsome and beautiful, and bursting with a sense of justice?!"

Just as Miracle Fantasy had mentally equated Smart Falcon with the mysterious Umamusume from last night, she suddenly heard Smart Falcon's cute voice beside her.

"Miss Miracle Fantasy, are you and Golden Crown Eagle on good terms?"

Miracle Fantasy shuddered at the question, seeing Smart Falcon lean forward slightly, her face close to hers with a beaming smile.

Suddenly, cold sweat broke out on Miracle Fantasy's forehead.

Looking at Smart Falcon's innocent, cute, and smiling face, she was certain that this Smart Falcon was an ultimate schemer, a wolf in sheep's clothing!

Despite the sweltering summer heat, Miracle Fantasy felt a chill run down her spine, and her legs trembled slightly.

"No... I'm not! I don't know her, not at all! We're not even on the same team."

"Eh, is that so? That's a shame..."

Smart Falcon said regretfully. Although she also disliked Golden Crown Eagle,

the thought of Golden Crown Eagle being injured in a foreign land, without any teammates, did seem quite pitiful.

When Smart Falcon first heard Miracle Fantasy ask her about Golden Crown Eagle, she assumed Miracle Fantasy was Golden Crown Eagle's friend.

"A... shame?!"

"This Smart Falcon is definitely trying to get me!"

Miracle Fantasy, watching the single-player getting closer and closer, felt like she was about to lose her balance.

"Wh...what should I do? Maybe I shouldn't let her overtake me? I just asked her so many questions about Golden Crown Eagle; what if she doesn't believe me and attacks me too..."

--

"The single-player reached the top of the steep slope first and handed the relay to Miracle Fantasy."

"Ah!!! What happened! After receiving the relay, Miracle Fantasy suddenly fell down!"

----

Chapter 127: What about me?

Hearing Sakura Bakushin O's high-pitched voice, many of the Umamusume spectators gasped in surprise.

"The race had clearly given BH a huge advantage, but then Miracle Fantasy fell!"

"How serious is it? Satono Diamond is almost catching up from behind!"

"Miracle Fantasy hasn't gotten up yet; that fall looks pretty bad!"

"Are you... are you alright? Should we request a timeout?" Smart Falcon asked worriedly, looking at Miracle Fantasy, who was struggling to get up after the fall.

"Haha... no, I'm fine." Miracle Fantasy slowly propped herself up, thinking, "Why isn't TCB's Umamusume catching up yet? I can't hold on much longer."

She absolutely didn't want to be ahead of Smart Falcon.

"Miracle Fantasy got up; she hasn't given up."

"But the advantage her two teammates built for her was completely squandered by this accident. It's such a pity."

"Satono Diamond finally arrived and completed the fourth leg of the relay!"

Smart Falcon glanced back at Miracle Fantasy with some concern, then grabbed the baton and ran forward.

Having been away from the Turf for so long, Smart Falcon now realized how difficult it was to run on the Turf.

"Indeed, the Turf is very difficult for Falco to adapt to. Thank goodness Trainer-san had a keen eye."

Smart Falcon silently thanked Sakura Baimu, then, enduring the discomfort in her legs, ran towards the finish line.

Miracle Fantasy, behind her, started running the moment Smart Falcon began her run.

But once Miracle Fantasy started, she noticed something was wrong.

Smart Falcon wasn't running fast.

She wasn't even judging it from the perspective of a Zone Umamusume anymore.

Instead, she was judging Smart Falcon's speed as that of an ordinary Umamusume with limited strength.

Slow, really slow.

It looked like she was running clumsily.

"What's going on? Wasn't she incredibly fast on her first run on the Dirt yesterday? If she can run that fast on the Dirt, how can she be so slow on the Turf?"

Miracle Fantasy was puzzled, but she quickly came to a conclusion—

Smart Falcon was deliberately waiting for her to overtake!

"That's awful! Really awful! No wonder she's the kind of person who suddenly slows down before the finish line and then overtakes!"

"I won't fall for it! She's too good at it!"

Miracle Fantasy thought to herself, slowing her pace.

"Oh dear, this race doesn't seem too intense."

"Smart Falcon isn't running very fast on the Turf; is it because she's not used to running on Turf?"

"Miracle Fantasy isn't very fast either; it looks like she injured her leg after a fall."

...

Finally, thanks to Miracle Fantasy's efforts, Tokai Teio successfully completed the fifth leg exchange before her.

Immediately afterward, Miracle Fantasy handed the relay ribbon to USA Durian, who was staring at Smart Falcon with a similarly horrified expression, standing next to Tokai Teio.

"Finally! The last leg!"

"Smart Falcon and Miracle Fantasy have completed the handover. Tokai Teio and USA Durian started less than a second apart!"

"What a pity, BH."

Sakura Baimu looked at the scene in the arena, her head was filled with huge question marks.

"What's going on? The Umamusume who raced against GG yesterday was like this, and now this one is too?"

"Do they all really think she's cute and can't bear to overtake her?"

"That's weird. I was worried she'd be sabotaged by these American Umamusumes, but they all seem really afraid of GG?"

Sakura Baimu felt like she was seeing ghosts, completely unable to understand the intentions of these American Umamusumes doing these things.

At this point in the race, Sakura Baimu felt there was no point in watching any longer.

USA Durian probably couldn't beat Tokai Teio; it was just a matter of how big the gap would be.

"Seriously, USA Durian, what was the person who named it thinking? Does America even have durians?"

Sakura Baimu muttered, walking down from the stands to stand next to Mejiro McQueen.

"Still angry?" Sakura Baimu chuckled.

"No," Mejiro McQueen replied, turning her head to the side.

“Pretty impressive, actually managing to pull ahead of the Zone Umamusume. Your strength is getting stronger and stronger.” Sakura Baimu praised, then reached out towards Mejiro McQueen's head.

However, before her hand could even touch Mejiro McQueen's hair, she immediately blocked it.

“Didn’t you think it was dirty?”

“Just kidding, I really wanted to touch it.”

“Now you don’t have the chance,” Mejiro McQueen said leisurely.

“Heh, quite stubborn.” Sakura Baimu chuckled. “Don’t let your anger stop you from training according to the guide I gave you. That’s the essence that can defeat the Golden Crown Eagle; I went through a lot of trouble to get it.”

Mejiro McQueen’s eyes flickered slightly at this, but she didn’t respond.

--

"Tokai Teio, a final burst of speed on the straight!"

"USA Durian can't catch Tokai Teio at all!"

"Tokai Teio—"

"Now, crossing the finish line with a 7-Length lead!"

The cheers from the Tracen Academy Umamusumes around the track signaled the end of this relay race.

Sakura Baimu listened to Sakura Bakushin O's commentary, feeling no joy.

Because, if it weren't for Smart Falcon's race, TCB would definitely have lost.

When the team members returned, Sakura Baimu was the first to grab Smart Falcon.

"GG, what's wrong with you? Why did the Umamusumes you raced against both times go easy on you?"

"Falco doesn't know either... Falco also finds it strange..." Smart Falcon said somewhat awkwardly.

"Forget it, forget it. This competition was originally for Kita-chan and Dia-chan to gain experience against strong opponents. You're not suited for Turf, so winning or losing doesn't matter."

Sakura Baimu shook her head. "You guys go train on your own. I'm going to take Dia-chan to find Special Week."

--

That evening, in the Tracen Academy cafeteria.

Special Week shared her day's experiences with Grass Wonder.

She excitedly pulled out two vouchers for the deluxe buffet restaurant and happily told Grass Wonder:

"Grass Wonder, look! I helped TCB's junior trainees train today, and their Trainer-san gave me two buffet vouchers!"

"Wow~ Spe-chan is so popular! That Sakura-san even gave you something," Grass Wonder said softly, looking at Special Week.

"Tomorrow's Saturday, let's use them!" Special Week exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey, Spe-chan!" Grass Wonder suddenly called out to the excited Special Week, pointing to her meal voucher. "It says 'Weekdays only' on it, so it can only be used on weekdays."

"Oh, I see. Thank you, Grass Wonder. I'm so grateful to you." Special Week scratched her head, expressing her gratitude to Grass Wonder.

"It's nothing, Spe-chan."

"Then I'll go find Suzuka-san next Friday!"

"Huh?"

--

Chapter 128: The Emperor's Visit with the Hotrod

In the evening, Sakura Baimu returned to the hospital to treat Rice Shower.

It was already dinnertime, and Sakura Baimu, unable to leave due to her treatment, asked Mihono Bourbon to go downstairs and buy some dinner for Rice Shower.

About twenty minutes later, Mihono Bourbon returned carrying a bag.

She took out some bread and nutritional drinks from the bag and placed them on the bedside table.

“Rice, which would you like?” Mihono Bourbon asked softly.

“Uh, thank you, Miss Bourbon, but Rice… usually only eats bread in the morning,” Rice Shower said softly.

After speaking, Rice Shower noticed Mihono Bourbon fall silent and immediately appeared very panicked, shaking her head and waving her hands repeatedly.

“Rice wasn’t being picky, Rice didn’t mean to blame Miss Bourbon!”

Rice Shower said, reaching for the bread on the shelf, but Sakura Baimu snatched it away first.

Then Rice Shower and Mihono Bourbon saw Sakura Baimu tear open the bread bag and take a big bite.

“Huh??” Rice Shower was stunned.

“Alright, I’ll eat this. I’ll go out and buy you some more,” Sakura Baimu said, standing up. “Rice, what would you like to eat?”

“No need to trouble onee-sama…” Rice Shower understood Sakura Baimu’s meaning, feeling touched but also a little apprehensive.

“It’s alright, I don’t have anything to do anyway.” Sakura Baimu smiled and waved her hand, indicating it wasn’t a problem.

“Then… Rice wants curry rice with lots of carrots.”

“Okay.” Sakura Baimu took another bite of her bread and went out.

About forty minutes later, Sakura Baimu returned.

She was carrying a bag containing curry rice from a curry restaurant with many branches throughout Japan.

Rice Shower paused again after seeing the logo on the bag.

“Rice remembers there isn’t a restaurant near the hospital, right?”

“Hmm, no problem, it’s just a little further away.”

Sakura Baimu smiled, then pulled over the small table from Rice Shower's bedside, and Mihono Bourbon helped Rice Shower sit up.

Sakura Baimu handed over the task of feeding Rice Shower to Mihono Bourbon, while she watched quietly from the side.

After Rice Shower had been eating for a while, she suddenly spoke up:

"Um, when Onee-sama went out to buy dinner for Rice, the student council president and Maruzensky-senpai came by too."

"Hmm?" Sakura Baimu was surprised. "Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky? Did they come to see Rice Shower?"

Rice Shower nodded slightly. "The president and the others asked about Rice's recovery, stayed for a while, and then left."

"Oh." Sakura Baimu nodded. "Did they go back?"

"I don't think so. After leaving Rice's room, they headed further into the hospital," Mihono Bourbon suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Sakura Baimu sensed something was amiss.

“The wards inside? Queen Beret and that new student Umamusume aren’t they in those wards? There aren’t any stairs over there…”

Sakura Baimu thought to herself, then suddenly remembered that Golden Crown Eagle from Pluto Academy was also in those wards. She quickly stood up.

“Bourbon, you take care of Rice Shower’s meals, I’ll go out for a bit.”

“Okay.” Mihono Bourbon nodded gently.

--

In another ward in the same hospital, Golden Crown Eagle was leaning against the headboard, lost in thought.

Her injuries weren’t serious; she could be discharged in a few days.

Of course, she’d probably be using crutches for a while.

Throughout the day, Golden Crown Eagle’s mind kept replaying last night’s race with Sakura Baimu.

She kept recalling Sakura Baimu’s sudden stop before the finish line, the burst of momentum she unleashed as she overtook her.

She felt her whole body trembling.

Golden Crown Eagle was already the strongest active-duty Umamusume at Pluto Academy.

She had, of course, competed against some retired legends.

For example, Obey Your Master, who was leading the team this time, and Urban Sea.

But even these Umamusumes, who were at the same level as her and used their Zones more skillfully, didn't possess the same aura as Sakura Baimu last night, even with their Zones activated.

This was very abnormal.

Of course, it was also possible that the retired Umamusume hadn't used their full strength when they competed against her.

In any case, this was the first time Golden Crown Eagle had experienced an Umamusume with such an overwhelming aura.

This aura left her with no other thoughts but fear.

"It was simply... a nightmare."

Golden Crown Eagle's dark green eyes trembled, then she shook her head violently, as if trying to shake all memories of Sakura Baimu from her mind.

Just then, Golden Crown Eagle suddenly heard a doctor's voice outside the ward, seemingly speaking to someone.

"She's awake, but when you talk to her, remember not to mention sensitive topics; her mental state might still be unstable..."

"Okay, I understand."

Just as she finished speaking, there was a gentle knock on Golden Crown Eagle's ward door.

"Hello, Miss Golden Crown Eagle. I'm Symboli Rudolf, the student council president of Tracen Academy. May I come in?"

Golden Crown Eagle was startled upon hearing this.

Symboli Rudolf?!

Is that Umamusume, the one at the pinnacle of Tracen Academy?

Why is she looking for her?

Could it be that she knows about her attack on Tracen Academy's Umamusume?!

Golden Crown Eagle panicked in that instant.

Although she was practically a force to be reckoned with among active-duty Umamusumes, she was still no match for a retired legend like her.

Not to mention Symboli Rudolf, who reigned supreme in Japan.

The difference was too great.

Golden Crown Eagle hesitated for a long time, feeling that continuing to avoid the issue might cause unnecessary misunderstandings, so she slowly spoke.

"Please come in."

As soon as she finished speaking, the door to her hospital room was pushed open.

Golden Crown Eagle looked towards the doorway, her heart skipping a beat again.

Following Symboli Rudolf was another Umamusume with brown hair, blue eyes, a stunning figure, and a blue ribbon near her right ear.

“The Undefeated Hotrod—Maruzensky?!”

Golden Crown Eagle recognized her immediately, her heart pounding in her chest.

Another Umamusume standing at the pinnacle of Japanese power.

While Maruzensky's record wasn't as terrifying as Symboli Rudolf's, her strength lay in her undefeated record.

Moreover, she was the only Umamusume in the world born with a special ability, yet who had never used it.

--

Chapter 129: We've Only Met Once, Right?

Golden Crown Eagle stared blankly at Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky, momentarily forgetting to greet them.

Of course, Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky didn't seem to care about Golden Crown Eagle's reaction.

In fact, they had already anticipated Golden Crown Eagle's reaction upon seeing them.

Symboli Rudolf smiled slightly and placed a bag beside Golden Crown Eagle's bed.

"This is a message of condolence from the Tracen Academy Student Council. On behalf of the Student Council, I express my deepest sympathy for what happened to Miss Golden Crown Eagle."

"..."

Golden Crown Eagle was helpless, unable to express her anger at Symboli Rudolf's crocodile tears.

"You're so powerful; whatever you say is right."

"Symboli Rudolf, is this all you came to see me about?" Golden Crown Eagle asked.

“You’re quite perceptive, Miss Golden Crown Eagle. I’ve come to ask you about something,” Symboli Rudolf chuckled.

Golden Crown Eagle’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that they were here to hold her accountable for harming Tracen Academy Umamusume?

“Miss Golden Crown Eagle, you taught Rice Shower about the Zone before Takarazuka Kinen, which resulted in her suffering extremely serious injuries at Takarazuka Kinen.”

--

“I saw her progress was slow and wanted to help her…” Golden Crown Eagle muttered a weak excuse.

“Miss Golden Crown Eagle, you don’t need to explain. We both know the truth. Since you’ve also been injured this time, I have no intention of pursuing the matter further,” Symboli Rudolf said softly. “Of course, your injuries are far less severe than Rice Shower’s.”

“Not going to pursue it further? What does that mean?” Golden Crown Eagle’s eyes widened when she heard Symboli Rudolf say she wasn’t going to pursue the matter further.

“It means exactly what it says.”

“Then why did you come to see me…?” Golden Crown Eagle was immediately confused.

She was somewhat confused as to why Symboli Rudolf had come to see her.

“Last night, Maruzensky and I were also at the academy. Like Obey Your Master, we witnessed your match.”

“!!!!”

Golden Crown Eagle was already surprised for the umpteenth time; she had thought last night's match was very secretive.

After all, it was quite late.

So, if she hadn't been defeated by an Umamusume last night, but instead, as she had expected, used her Zone to frighten “Ogura,” then “The Emperor” and “Hotrod” would have intervened!

Golden Crown Eagle suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Although, if that had actually happened, she wasn't sure if she could use the pretext of “bullying the weak” to stop them.

“So, what brings you two to me?” Golden Crown Eagle thought for a long time, still unable to understand their purpose in coming to see her.

“I have a few questions for you,” Symboli Rudolf said slowly.

“Go ahead and ask.”

“How did you determine that harming Umamusume of Tracen Academy would lure ‘her’ out?”

“Her?”

“Don’t play dumb. It’s the Umamusume you competed against last night.”

“What do you mean? Don’t you know ‘Ogura’? Isn’t she your academy’s Umamusume? Why don’t you just ask her yourself?” Golden Crown Eagle asked again, puzzled.

“You just need to answer Rudolf’s questions,” Maruzensky said with a smile, offering no further explanation.

“That’s pretty domineering…” Golden Crown Eagle thought to herself, speechless, before replying.

“I had a match with that Ogura the night before last, and I lost to her. Before she left, she gave me two pieces of advice.”

Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky exchanged a glance and quickly asked.

“What advice?”

“She told me not to use my Zone to harm the other Umamusume at Tracen Academy anymore, and she said that her investigation wasn’t yet complete, so it was best not to let her contact me.”

Golden Crown Eagle recalled the night she first met this Ogura.

Looking back now, that umamusume's attitude was actually quite gentle; the only pity was that she hadn’t taken Sakura Baimu’s advice to heart.

“So, you deliberately hurt Umamusume from our academy just to lure her out?” Symboli Rudolf asked in a deep voice.

“…” Golden Crown Eagle was speechless.

“You saw the face of that ‘Ogura’ you mentioned, right? Can you describe what she looks like?”

“Hmm?” Golden Crown Eagle was puzzled again.

That Umamusume was clearly wearing Tracen Academy's tracksuit, so why was Symboli Rudolf asking her?

“Actually, Rudolf and I didn’t get a clear look at the face of the Umamusume you were competing against when we were watching your match. And that ‘Ogura’ mentioned is probably a fake name; we’re looking for her,” Maruzensky said.

“I see…”

Golden Crown Eagle recalled Sakura Baimu’s appearance again. Yesterday, Sakura Baimu had a close forehead-to-forehead encounter with her, and she had clearly seen Sakura Baimu’s face.

"Her main features are blue hair and blue eyes. Also, she looks a lot like that..."

Just as Golden Crown Eagle was about to say that the Umamusume looked a lot like that TCB trainer, the hospital room door was opened again.

The three people in the room looked toward the door and saw that the person who entered was Sakura Baimu.

"Trainer Sakura?"

"Ms. Sakura."

Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky both looked surprised, while Golden Crown Eagle, lying on the bed, changed her expression drastically upon seeing Sakura Baimu's face.

What do you mean, "looks a lot like"?

Except for the hair color and the lack of ears, they were exactly the same!

"I heard from Bourbon that you were here, so I thought I'd come and see," Sakura Baimu smiled. "What are you talking about?"

"Uh... we came to visit Golden Crown Eagle."

Symboli Rudolf suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

It's rather illogical that they would come to Golden Crown Eagle to investigate "Ogura" behind the back of Sakura Baimu, a trainer who clearly knows "Ogura."

"Is that so?" Sakura Baimu smiled slightly, as if to say, "I see."

She slowly walked to the bedside of Golden Crown Eagle, who had been staring intently at her since she entered the room. She bent down, bringing her face close to Golden Crown Eagle's. Golden Crown Eagle smiled, looking directly into her eyes, and spoke...

"I just found out about Miss Golden Crown Eagle's hospitalization. It's really careless of you to break a bone while running."

"You..."

Golden Crown Eagle's pupils contracted sharply when she saw Sakura Baimu approach and clearly saw her jewel-like blue eyes.

"I'm Sakura Baimu, a trainer from TCB. Miss Golden Crown Eagle, we met 'once' at the academy yesterday afternoon; you haven't forgotten, have you?" Sakura Baimu asked with a smile.

--

Chapter 130: Dual Gaze

Symboli Rudolf was somewhat surprised to see Sakura Baimu greeting Golden Crown Eagle.

"Trainer Sakura, you've met Miss Golden Crown Eagle before?"

Symboli Rudolf had initially assumed that Sakura Baimu simply knew Golden Crown Eagle but hadn't actually met her.

Now it seemed that wasn't the case.

Not only "Ogura," but even Sakura Baimu had interacted with Golden Crown Eagle.

"Yes, Miss Golden Crown Eagle came to our team yesterday afternoon, wanting to teach McQueen and Teiō how to activate their Zone," Sakura Baimu said with a smile.

"Hmm? You were originally planning to teach Teiō how to activate her Zone?"

Symboli Rudolf turned sharply to look at Golden Crown Eagle, her previously gentle gaze instantly becoming incredibly sharp.

Although she wasn't using her aura, the imperial majesty she had long held at the top was still quite terrifying.

"Uh...? W-what's wrong?" Golden Crown Eagle was startled.

"Miss Golden Crown Eagle, don't tell me you don't know that the more you understand about Zones, the harder it is to break through them," Symboli Rudolf said in a deep voice.

"I just wanted to help..."

"No!"

Symboli Rudolf suddenly raised her voice, startling Golden Crown Eagle so much she almost shrank back.

"What's wrong with you? I've never seen you so agitated when other Umamusume are injured..."

Golden Crown Eagle was utterly confused by Symboli Rudolf's unpredictable mood, but knowing she was in the wrong, she could only obediently nod.

"Let's get back to our previous topic." Symboli Rudolf's expression softened slightly upon seeing Golden Crown Eagle nod. "Who did you say Ogura looked like?"

Now that the conversation had reached this point, Symboli Rudolf no longer hesitated to mention Sakura Baimu.

She knew Sakura Baimu wasn't stupid; since they had come to Golden Crown Eagle's ward, Sakura Baimu must have already guessed their purpose.

"Uh..."

Golden Crown Eagle was speechless again. She glanced at Sakura Baimu, who stood behind Symboli Rudolf, a smile playing on her lips as she silently watched her. A cold sweat broke out on her back.

Just now, when Sakura Baimu approached, she had already confirmed that Sakura Baimu was the Umamusume from last night.

She had observed the Umamusume named "Ogura" up close last night and was deeply impressed by that Umamusume's eyes.

Golden Crown Eagle didn't understand why Sakura Baimu had kept her ears hidden.

But clearly,

Sakura Baimu didn't want her to reveal this.

Sakura Baimu had just said that she had only met her "once" yesterday afternoon.

Sakura Baimu had even emphasized the word "once."

The meaning was crystal clear.

Golden Crown Eagle, along with Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky, two top Umamusume of Tracen Academy, had actually come to her to inquire about an Umamusume who should have been from their academy.

Finally, she understood what was going on.

It turned out that Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky had absolutely no idea about Sakura Baimu's Umamusume status!

No wonder they came to ask her.

Under the dual gazes of Sakura Baimu and Symboli Rudolf, Golden Crown Eagle was so nervous she could hardly breathe.

"No... I misspoke. Aside from blue hair and blue eyes, she doesn't seem to resemble anyone else."

Golden Crown Eagle said slowly.

"Can you draw?" Symboli Rudolf asked again.

"No."

"Then never mind." Symboli Rudolf sighed. Describing someone's appearance with words alone was indeed difficult.

With Sakura Baimu right beside her, she didn't want to pry further.

So she gave up on asking any more questions.

"Get some rest, Miss Golden Crown Eagle," Maruzensky said with a smile and a wave to Golden Crown Eagle before leaving the room.

Sakura Baimu smiled slightly at Golden Crown Eagle, then followed Symboli Rudolf and the others out.

Once the door closed, Golden Crown Eagle, who had been incredibly tense, finally let out a long sigh of relief and completely relaxed.

"Thank goodness... thank goodness I didn't say anything."

She recalled Sakura Baimu's smile, still feeling a lingering unease.

--

Symboli Rudolf and the others left Golden Crown Eagle's room. After taking a few steps, she suddenly turned back and bowed to Sakura Baimu.

"I'm so sorry, Trainer Sakura."

"No, what's wrong?" Sakura Baimu quickly asked.

“I’m sorry for coming to inquire about ‘Ogura’ behind your back. I apologize.”

“It’s alright, it’s alright. As the student council president of Tracen Academy, it’s perfectly reasonable for you to come and investigate the situation that led to the exchange student’s admission. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Sakura Baimu smiled.

“Besides, it’s your freedom to investigate whatever you want. I’m not ‘Ogura’s’ trainer. I just benefited from Chairman Akikawa’s connections and ‘borrowed’ Ogura. I’m not even that close to her.”

“Wasn’t Ogura someone you called over, Ms. Sakura?” Maruzensky asked.

“No, how could it be me? I don’t know who hurt Queen Beret and the others. It was Chairman Akikawa. It has little to do with me.”

“I see,” Symboli Rudolf nodded.

She remembered that when she almost caught Ogura at the academy before, it was Chairman Akikawa who stepped in to save the day.

It seems that Ogura and Chairman Akikawa have a better relationship.

“Anyway, thank you, Trainer Sakura,” Symboli Rudolf bowed to Sakura Baimu again.

“It’s nothing; I didn’t do anything.” Sakura Baimu waved her hands repeatedly, indicating that she didn’t mind.

“Thank you for taking the time to take care of Rice Shower after getting off work,” Symboli Rudolf said with a smile.

“It was my own choice; after all, nobody dislikes Rice Shower.” Sakura Baimu smiled back at Symboli Rudolf.

“You’re a good trainer; I feel very reassured with Teiō under your guidance,” Symboli Rudolf said, then said goodbye to Sakura Baimu and left the hospital with Maruzensky.

After Sakura Baimu watched Maruzensky and Symboli Rudolf disappear from sight, her own heart, which had been pounding with tension, gradually calmed down.

"Sigh, I knew competing against that Golden Crown Eagle wouldn't end well. Now my identity is exposed to her."

Sakura Baimu sighed.

Even a bad result today was better than Symboli Rudolf finding out that "Ogura," the one who sent Golden Crown Eagle to the hospital, looked a lot like her.

Today was the third day; the Umamusume of Pluto Academy would be staying at Tracen Academy for another four days.

"I just hope nothing else goes wrong in these next four days..."

---