Chapter 107: Don't Think You Can Take the Lead That Easily!
Clack
The sharp metallic crash of the gates flinging open exploded in her ears, and the world that had been confined before her eyes suddenly spread wide.
Her heart thundered in her chest like rolling stormclouds, and the cleats embedded in her soles sank deep into the lush green turf.
In that instant when every muscle in her body tensed like steel cables forged a thousand times, Kitasan Black's pupils contracted, and she shot forward.
The rushing wind instantly filled her long ears, and she felt endless power surging from her black-stockinged legs, driving her ahead like a javelin hurled with all its might.
At the same time, within her side vision, fourteen streamlined figures, crouched like leopards, also unleashed astonishing starting speed.
"An incredible start! What explosive acceleration!" The announcer's voice rang with excitement as he relayed the race:
"All the Umamusumes have launched with a perfect start!"
"The first to pull ahead is Number 4, Azreta!"
"She's fast! She's taken a great position!"
"On her inside are Number 2, Narusei Raidou, and Number 3, Spirited Mind—she's edged into the front line beautifully, overtaking two rivals!"
"Now she's fighting with Number 1, Bright Crest, for the lane… and the contest is settled!
"Azreta still leads! A very clean move to secure position— wait!"
"It's Kitasan Black!"
"Number 7, Kitasan Black, has caught up!"
"She's shaken off the pressure from Number 5, Indomitable Steel, and is charging straight at Azreta!"
"She's past her!
"In an instant, she's overtaken!"
"Kitasan Black is now in first!"
"But—on the outside!"
"It's Number 14, Clear Sky!"
"Clear Sky is closing in!"
"She's stormed up from sixth or seventh position all the way to second or third, sticking right on Kitasan Black's tail!"
"Kitasan Black still holds the lead, but Number 4, Azreta, is inside, and Number 14, Clear Sky, is outside!"
"Both rivals are pushing hard, clearly unwilling to surrender the front view so easily!"
"They're at the steep opening slope, fighting for the lead position—"
"The struggle continues!"
With the commentator's pitch climbing in excitement, the Nakayama Racecourse erupted into chaos from the very start.
The cheers of over a hundred thousand people merged into a roaring tidal wave, crashing down on the track where the Umamusumes sprinted.
Their images filled the giant screen as well—the taut young faces, puffed cheeks, and the corded muscles of forearms and long legs were clear in every detail.
"They're entering the first corner!" the announcer suddenly pitched his voice up several octaves:
"The fight for the lead group continues— wait!"
"Kitasan Black is drifting outward! Is she willingly giving up the inside advantage already?"
As that cry rang out, on the track itself, Kitasan Black visibly ceded part of the inside lane, suddenly opening half a body's gap between herself and the pressing Azreta.
The grass behind her sprayed upward in straight green streaks, which abruptly bent into curves as she shifted course.
Just as she was about to collide with Clear Sky on the outside, Kitasan Black changed her stride in the very last fraction of a second.
Like a magician conjuring a trick, she switched into a new sprinting step, carving a crescent-shaped arc across the emerald turf, slipping past her opponent by the narrowest margin.
And then—leaving them behind in a spray of speed—she was the first to storm out of the opening corner.
The cheers rolling through the grandstands grew confused for a moment, then swelled again into even more fevered roars for Kitasan Black's breathtaking maneuver.
At the very front, a low, exhilarated voice called out:
"Good! That's it!"
The fingers gripping his binoculars went white as Makoto pumped his arm with force.
What Kitasan Black had just displayed was precisely the opening tactic they had drilled over and over again—the arc-line position take!
At this moment, every one of her steps landed precisely on the predetermined path, carrying the arc they had traced again and again in training flawlessly onto the turf of the Satsuki Sho.
This was the reward for all those days and nights of wind, frost, rain, and snow endured without a single lapse!
The commentator once more cried out in amazement:
"Unbelievable positioning!"
"Kitasan Black's positioning is simply unbelievable!"
"She now firmly holds the lead!"
"The front running group has split into three waves—the very front is the lone leader, Kitasan Black!"
"Two lengths behind her, Azreta and Clear Sky are locked in a struggle!"
"And behind them, the main pack is being stretched three lengths further back!"
Kitasan Black's unexpected handling of the opening slope had stunned not just the announcer and the crowd, but even more so the Umamusumes running on the track—especially those fighting for the lead.
Eyes fixed on the black-and-gold figure ahead, Azreta pushed with all her strength, her heart brimming with disbelief.
She had never imagined Kitasan Black's opening pace would be this fast, nor that she would clear the slope with such a bizarre yet effective technique.
The moment she'd felt the outside pressure ease, she had been elated and angled back inward.
But in that single instant, Kitasan Black had already seized the spot ahead of her.
And then, in one surge, she had left both her and Clear Sky behind.
No! She can't be allowed to run away so easily! The straight is coming—this is where I have to pin her down!
As Azreta wrestled with her decision, ready to accelerate, a sudden gust tore past her flank. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a figure bursting forward.
"You've got to be kidding me— Don't think you can take the lead that easily!"
With a growl that was almost a roar, her long ears—already flattened by the wind—stood rigid, and Clear Sky's gaze locked firmly onto the back in front of her.
She had never expected Kitasan Black to show such speed on the slope, or to carve such a line, nor did she have the faintest idea how her rival had managed it.
But whether she expected it or not, whether she understood it or not, none of that mattered. At this moment she had only one thought:
I will never let her keep the lead!
Her jaw clenched, her breathing and strides sharpened into short, powerful bursts.
Every fiber of muscle in her body released energy like precision clockwork, the burning sensation in her calves pushing her harder.
And then, Clear Sky saw it clearly—
The black-haired girl ahead suddenly veered outward.
This wasn't the slope technique from before. This was a defensive maneuver common on the straights.
Her trainer had taught her this, and she had drilled it day after day.
Whenever the senpai who paced with her used this move, she had always felt as though she was being trapped in a swamp of no escape.
Thanks to their guidance, the instant she sensed Kitasan Black's shift, her body reacted on instinct—weight pressed into her left foot, right foot driving lightly but sharply forward on the diagonal.
Clods of turf and a whole chunk of sod sprayed wide to the left, and using the recoil and her long-gathered momentum, she forced her way through the gap that had just opened on the inside—catching up to Kitasan Black.
"It's not over yet… I'll pass you!"
Her Achilles tendons exploded with energy, and when her left arm cut through the gale swirling around Kitasan Black, the back of her hand to her fingertips went numb.
But she didn't care at all—only tilted her gaze slightly to the left-rear.
Catching sight of the shocked look aimed her way, she curled her lips into a grin.
Don't think you can take the lead that easily!
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