Half a month after the Yayoi Sho had ended.
Mejiro Estate.
Mejiro Bright raced across the training ground, her wavy hair tied back and swaying from side to side as she ran.
Recently, her form had been excellent—she'd already secured victories in three G-level races.
Now she was preparing for her goal: the Spring Tenno Sho.
Several laps later.
Bright gradually slowed her pace on the track, coming to a stop beside the butler who was waiting nearby. She took the water and towel he offered, wiping away her sweat and rehydrating.
For the Spring Tenno Sho, she had already intensified her training.
The opponents she would face in this Tenno Sho were not to be underestimated—she couldn't afford to slack off even a little.
The towel brushed gently against her cheeks, wiping away the sweat. Her gaze fell on her phone resting nearby, where several unread messages from her trainer were displayed.
After finishing the water, she handed the used towel back to the butler.
Only then did she pick up her phone to read the messages from her trainer.
But the words on the screen gave Bright a slight pause. "Barbatos?"
"Which Barbatos?"
The words slipped out instinctively.
It wasn't that she didn't know Barbatos—after all, right now, the most famous topic among Uma Musume was her showdown with El Condor Pasa in the Oka Sho.
But that Barbatos was entering the Spring Tenno Sho? For a moment, it felt utterly unreal.
It was like asking a 100-meter sprinter to run a marathon—completely contrary to her previous experience and training focus.
Yet such doubts were quickly dispelled.
Not only had her trainer sent the news, but related topics were already trending online.
The fact that Barbatos, the "Wind God," was entering the Spring Tenno Sho was absolutely true.
She put her phone back in its place.
Glancing once more at the training field, she turned and began to run again.
Whether Barbatos could handle long-distance races or not, she had to stay alert now. The strategy her trainer had originally laid out might need to change because of this.
Barbatos, hailed as a prodigy of this era, was an opponent who absolutely could not be ignored.
For the glory of the Mejiro family, the Spring Tenno Sho must not be lost!
--+--
Tracen Academy.
El Condor Pasa's legs moved in a rapid blur—if anyone were close enough, they'd hear the whoosh of air parting around her.
She clung stubbornly to the back of Symboli Rudolf, refusing to let the distance between them grow any wider. Yet whenever she tried to close the gap just a little more…
No matter how hard she pushed, she always seemed to fall just short.
"Is this really all I can manage this time?"
Toujou Hana stood at the edge of the training field.
While recording El Condor Pasa's current condition on her tablet, she noticed a trending notification about Barbatos entering the Spring Tenno Sho.
Barbatos, in the Spring Tenno Sho?
Her brow furrowed slightly, then she swiped the notification away, dismissing it from her mind.
She didn't know what her fellow trainer Minamizaka was thinking, letting Barbatos enter a long-distance race like the Spring Tenno Sho.
But that was none of her concern.
And it had nothing to do with El Condor Pasa, who was training her heart out right now.
For El Condor Pasa, all that mattered now was preparing for the Oka Sho. Everything else could be ignored.
The Spring Tenno Sho wasn't on El Condor Pasa's upcoming schedule anyway.
After that first race Hana had arranged between El Condor Pasa and Rudolf, this was now their thirteenth match. While El Condor Pasa trained relentlessly according to plan, she also raced against Rudolf from time to time.
And with each race, she showed clear improvement over the last.
It could be said that Seiun Sky, King Halo, and Special Week in the Yayoi Sho were all impressive, with standout performances.
But in Hana's eyes, they still seemed half a step behind the current El Condor Pasa.
This was something she could sense from her years of experience as a trainer.
This generation of Uma Musume truly seemed to be bursting with talent—it could be called a golden age for Japanese racing. And among them, El Condor Pasa stood out remarkably.
Her potential seemed to have no ceiling.
If she were being a little biased, Hana felt El Condor Pasa's talent surpassed even Barbatos's.
The simplest example: Barbatos had already mastered the [Zone], but El Condor Pasa had not yet.
Often, people in the industry judged an Uma Musume by whether she had awakened her Zone. But the Zone wasn't everything.
If an Uma Musume's base speed was fast enough, she could still outrun one who had activated her Zone.
A prime example was Narita Brian defeating Mayano Top Gun even without a Zone, while Air Groove had activated hers.
In the Dream Cup, Barbatos needed to activate her Zone just to keep pace with the legends. Yet the current El Condor Pasa could do the same even without one.
"This feeling…?"
Just as Hana was lost in thought, Fuji Kiseki's voice sounded beside her.
Her tone held a note of surprise and delight.
"Hmm, you sensed it too, didn't you?"
Narita Brian smiled as she watched the two competing on the field. This feeling was the stirring of a Zone about to awaken.
Since Rudolf could already activate hers, the one giving off this sensation could only be El Condor Pasa.
The [Zone] was a mysterious thing—only those who could awaken it could see it.
Similarly, those who possessed the ability to awaken a Zone, or were on the verge of doing so, could be sensed by others who had already unlocked theirs.
This was why, back in Oguri Cap's era, when Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross faced each other for the first time—neither having yet awakened their Zones—Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky, watching from the stands, could say "both of them."
Because at that time, they had both already possessed the capability and were standing at the threshold.
They were just missing the right trigger.
And now, in El Condor Pasa's eyes, something seemed on the verge of shattering… yet still lacking one final piece.
--+--
Narita City.
The Seiun Residence.
An intense aura and crushing pressure swept across the modest training field as Barbatos's figure transformed into a bolt of white lightning streaking across the ground.
One lap… two laps… three laps…
The [Zone], once a massive drain on stamina, was nothing to Barbatos now.
The stamina cost of activating the Zone hadn't changed, but Barbatos's endurance was now on a completely different level compared to her Winter Dream Cup self.
If her stamina during the Winter Dream Cup was 1, now it was easily around 5!
This was the result of daily high-intensity weight training.
The heavy weights other Uma Musume wouldn't dare wear long-term were nothing to her, given her ability to recover.
Moreover, once the weights came off, her steps felt light, and her base speed had improved significantly.
"Oka Sho, I'm coming for you!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.