Surpass Her, Defeat Her, Then... Crush Her
Closest to Kitasan Black, Katsuno Stone stared fixedly at the figure ahead, her eyes full of regret and unwillingness:
Before overtaking Satomi Noble at the exit of the Final Bend a few seconds ago, she should have noticed Kitasan Black's condition in the race.
She had long known that her opponent possessed astonishing stamina, an abnormally strong sense of rhythm, and a horrifying talent for sustained acceleration.
So why had she let her guard down just because the other girl had failed to take the lead at the start?
"I should have realized sooner..." Her teeth clenched tightly as bitterness welled up in her throat, yet her spirits rose once more.
Even if she had misjudged things strategically and made an oversight, there was still a chance to decide the race ahead!
Sweat slid past Katsuno Stone's eyes as she stared hard at Kitasan Black's fluttering black-and-gold Victory Outfit. The race footage she had watched over and over replayed relentlessly in her mind:
Last year's Kikuka Sho, the Arima Kinen that followed, the Tenno Sho Spring from a month or two ago—
Stride frequency controlled like a precision instrument. A Slow Escape deliberately holding back the lead. Acceleration beginning while there were still several hundred meters left before the Finish Line—every piece of race footage, every detail, every analysis from her Trainer all confirmed the same thing:
Every strategy and tactic Kitasan Black employed was designed to maximize her stamina and physical advantages, using an unceasing offensive to conceal the weakness of her lacking explosive Final Burst!
In other words, as long as she could endure that bombardment of stamina, the Final Burst—would be her moment to decide the race!
"So I absolutely can't fall behind now!"
As memories surged forth, a roar