Even Miss Sato no Diamond, the young lady, had been dazzled, her eyes shining with astonishment.
The only Uma Musume in the history of the Japanese Derby to race with a bow and arrow on her back had arrived.
And Platinum watched her Outer Gate as she walked forward, letting the raindrops keep falling and soaking her fair skin. The sight only made her look even more beautiful.
Amid the howling wind and torrential rain, she was like an assassin strolling down a city street, taking a leisurely walk through the dangerous central area!
In the eyes of many, Platinum at that moment was probably...
A teenager, a newcomer, afraid of the Heavy Track?
Miss Heavenly Horse smiled faintly and murmured softly.
"...It's just a little rain."
55. Heavenly Horse Platinum's Hunt! The Battle for the Derby Crown Has Always Been Like This!
"It's raining."
Miss Heavenly Horse finished speaking in a voice as calm as could be, then strolled into her gate.
This was... Gate 18.
A huge outside gate, plain as day!
In races with exorbitant entry fees, like those in Europe and America, only a single-digit number of Uma Musume would enter. Even an outside gate wouldn't make much difference.
But Japan was different. This Japanese Derby had as many as twenty Uma Musume competing!
A gate this far outside could almost ruin any Uma Musume who excelled at front-running or escaping.
But Platinum didn't care that she had drawn a poor gate. A true strong competitor should be able to handle more than one running style—and wouldn't let a random gate position decide the outcome!
Before long, the Uma Musume across the field gradually entered their respective gates.
The gates of Platinum's two opponents of particular interest, Jungle Pocket and Black Ship, were both in the single digits, closer to the inside.
One after another, the gates had already swung shut.
No one noticed that the empty quiver on the back of the silver-white Heavenly Horse was gradually changing.
Each time an Uma Musume entered a gate, another arrow appeared behind her.
By the time every Uma Musume had taken her place, the quiver held no fewer than nineteen arrows—all but the one corresponding to Platinum herself!
(Okay, time to see the "skin effect"!)
Jungle Pocket, the second favorite, entered her gate!
Once considered the "second-strongest" Uma Musume, this monster had once threatened Agnes Tachyon. Could she, on a Heavy Track, unsettle Miss Heavenly Horse despite her disadvantageous gate?
The third favorite was Black Ship, a genius Uma Musume who had come all the way from America!
By naming herself Black Ship, she clearly hoped to change the times and lead the tide, just like the historic Black Ships!
Come on, in this Japanese Derby, watched by the whole world... who would be the ultimate winner?!
The countdown was about to begin!!
At the same time, the announcer's voice rang across the vast racetrack, announcing the start of the countdown.
The stands immediately filled with anticipation and cheers, the loudest support going to the three favorites.
10!
9!
8!
The numbers began to count down.
Even Jungle Pocket, in Gate 8, couldn't help trembling slightly. She was completely worked up now.
She gave one last glance toward the outside, looking at Black Ship in Gate 3, then at Platinum in Gate 18, far away.
(Black Ship is a monster from America, but she might not be suited to a 2,400-meter race. She might not even be suited to the Japanese Derby on a Heavy Track.)
(And Platinum... That monster who won by a huge margin with Looking Back at the Moon couldn't possibly be brought down so easily by something as trivial as a Heavy Track.)
(So my real opponent has to be this Heavenly Horse. I can't let my guard down for even a moment just because she's on the far outside!)
Having already lost to Agnes Tachyon in the Satsuki Sho, Jungle Pocket was filled with a desire to avenge herself as she prepared to burst from the gate.
The anger she had bottled up for so long was about to erupt in this Japanese Derby! Not even this downpour could extinguish it!
(If I can't beat Tachyon, then I'll beat Platinum. She'll make a fine substitute!)
3!
Jungle Pocket, the chestnut-haired Uma Musume, was completely focused.
1!
In the next instant, she reacted with incredible speed and burst out of the gate.
Not the slightest hesitation, not a moment's delay. She lived up to her name as a genius.
It was worth noting that Jungle Pocket didn't move toward the inside at all!
Most of the time, aside from Uma Musume starting from the far outside who couldn't make it to the inside, ordinary runners would squeeze inside right away.
But now the situation was highly unusual. Jungle Pocket and the Uma Musume around her didn't claim the inside—not even Black Ship, whose Gate 3 was extremely close to it!
The inside offered a considerable advantage on turns, allowing runners to move faster. That was exactly why many Uma Musume were willing to risk getting "boxed in"—blocked by the other runners—in order to hug the inside.
But on a Heavy Track like this, everything was completely different.
The raindrops would eventually run together along the innermost lane, making it the muddiest and hardest to struggle through. It would also test their strength the most.
Trading a slight speed advantage on the turns for mud that tested their strength and consumed more stamina was a terrible bargain by any measure.
Only an Uma Musume with immense strength, capable of mastering the muddy innermost lane on a Heavy Track, and with enough stamina to spare could choose to run there.
Clearly, those conditions were far too demanding. So neither Jungle Pocket nor Black Ship chose to claim the inside.
In just a short while, Jungle Pocket easily claimed the position she wanted: slightly ahead of the Mid-runners, but a little behind the Leaders.
(Good, this position... is excellent!!)
As long as she chose to speed up or slow down slightly, she could switch between either group at any time. Yet Jungle Pocket didn't seem to have chosen a running style right away.
Was she indecisive?
Was the Heavy Track making her hesitate over which running style to use?
No. Jungle Pocket wasn't some weak herbivore. On the contrary, she was a ferocious beast through and through, the type to lock onto her prey and never let go!
(Come on, Platinum! Let me see what you choose!)
(Are you going to do what you did before, boldly accelerate from the far outside and take the lead...)
(Or lie in wait in the middle of the pack as a Mid-runner or Late-runner, waiting for your chance?)
Jungle Pocket waited for Platinum to arrive. She would adjust her tactics to match Platinum's running style!
In the stands!
"Eh? Nobody's going for the inside?"
Kitasan Black stared wide-eyed at the racetrack, where the race had only just begun.
"Why isn't Miss Jungle Pocket running as a Leader or a Mid-runner?"
Sato no Diamond thought about what she knew of the favorite to win, looking a little puzzled.
"Isn't she best at running as a Mid-runner?"
"Could she be thinking about switching styles because of the Heavy Track?"
The next second, a clear, cheerful female voice sounded beside the two little girls.
"No, she's... targeting Platinum."
"What a ruthless little filly. Her desire to win is so intense it's frightening."
Sato no Diamond and Kitasan Black immediately turned toward the voice. In the row behind them, they saw a handsome young woman wearing a small top hat and sunglasses.
When the handsome young woman took off her sunglasses and showed her face, the two young Uma Musume froze.
"M-Miss Chimei Representative?!"
"The legendary Miss CB?!"
Chimei Representative was one of the few Triple Crown Uma Musume in Japanese history, and at one point, her popularity had surpassed everyone else's in Japan!
Unfortunately, the year after she won the Triple Crown, an Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume emerged, surpassing the ordinary Triple Crown: Emperor Symbol of Rudolf!
Chimei Representative, who suffered from injuries, lost every one of their matchups, cementing Symboli Rudolf's reputation as the supreme, strongest Uma Musume of all time.
But no one would ever claim that Chimei Representative had been too weak. She had simply been unlucky enough to face the strongest Uma Musume Japan had seen in nearly a century.
After retiring, Chimei Representative hadn't joined the student council and managed the academy like Symboli Rudolf. This Triple Crown Uma Musume, who valued freedom in both her running style and personality, had chosen to travel around Japan and even overseas!
Who would have thought this Triple Crown Uma Musume would return for a while to watch the race?
"Miss Chimei Representative, what did you mean when you said she was targeting Platinum?"
At the moment, Sato no Diamond preferred and admired the Heavenly Horse Platinum, who was challenging the supposedly impossible Triple Crown of Transformation, more than this retired Triple Crown veteran.
So, with her idol Platinum at the center of this tense discussion, Sato no Diamond immediately pressed for an answer.
Chimei Representative smiled calmly. She stretched her lithe body slightly before replying.
"Earlier, Platinum showed that she could keep accelerating from an outside gate and take the lead on the first lap."
"Jungle Pocket is in the middle of the pack. She's waiting for Platinum to use a Lead Runner tactic."
"If she does, Jungle Pocket can start accelerating slightly. That will block Platinum's angled acceleration and force her to use up her stamina by going all out early—or else give up on taking the lead."
An angled run couldn't interfere with the surrounding Uma Musume. So if Jungle Pocket started accelerating the moment she saw Platinum gradually pick up speed, she could restrict Platinum's position!
To avoid impeding her opponents with an angled run and being penalized for it, Platinum would have no choice but to accelerate early on the outside, get far ahead of Jungle Pocket, and then cut into the middle of the pack!
"Jungle Pocket is lying in wait, hoping to bite through her prey's throat in one go. She's a true beast, waiting for Platinum to make her choice!"
"Either her rhythm will be completely disrupted, forcing her to accelerate early on the outside, or she'll have to stay obediently behind the middle of the pack and switch to a running style she's never used before."
"I wonder what Platinum will choose."
As she finished speaking, Chimei Representative couldn't help looking toward the silver-white figure on the far outside.
Every mistake and choice on a Heavy Track would be magnified endlessly by the heavy, muddy ground.
So if Platinum accelerated early and disrupted her rhythm... that would be bad. She could lose speed.
As for the other option, holding back on a Heavy Track wasn't necessarily a good choice.
The grass on a Heavy Track was no longer firm. After the Escape Horses and Leaders trampled over it, the soft ground would become uneven and pockmarked. Any Uma Musume without enough experience would be affected.
So holding back would severely test Platinum's adaptability and experience. The slightest misstep could make her accelerate too early or too late.
That was why the sharp and decisive Jungle Pocket was waiting for the Heavenly Horse to make her choice. She wouldn't let Platinum repeat her old tactic of accelerating diagonally from the far outside into the lead!
That astonishing desire to win and determination to stop at nothing—no wonder she was a monster who could threaten Agnes Tachyon.
Hearing this, the hearts of the two little fillies, Sato no Diamond and Kitasan Black, nearly leapt into their throats.
"I-Is this what they mean when they call the Japanese Derby the most blood-soaked race?"
"It's so brutal, so scary!"
At that moment, dark clouds filled the sky above, heralding a torrential downpour that blanketed the entire city.
On the muddy, heavy grass, several Uma Musume were already struggling. They didn't have enough strength to adapt to it.
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