"Yahoooo! Maya's about to take off!"
Mayano Top Gun began changing her running style right there in the middle section of the race, her whole approach shifting in an instant.
She wasn't planning to make her move in the final straight like most Uma Musume would. She was doing it now, mid-race, throwing strategy out the window.
After slightly increasing her speed, it began to rise gradually, smoothly, like an airplane gliding into higher altitude. The acceleration was somewhat similar to Gold Ship's ultimate skill, that same controlled escalation.
She could accept any running style without hesitation. Suddenly changing tactics mid-race was nothing to her, just another tool in her arsenal.
The speed she gained wasn't particularly explosive, but it was just a fraction faster than the Uma Musume ahead. Her position moved forward without anyone noticing the shift at first, smooth as water flowing downhill.
Mayano Top Gun passed Tokai Palace, and she was still accelerating, as if the pace change cost her nothing.
Several Uma Musume who noticed her relentless acceleration tried to speed up in response, but they discovered something shocking that made their stomachs drop. No matter how much they increased their speed, they were just slightly slower than Mayano Top Gun, always playing catch-up.
Even that tiny difference caused the distance to constantly shrink, the gap growing with every stride. Without Mayano Top Gun's ability to control speed with such precision, they had to seriously consider whether they had enough stamina left for a final sprint.
These uma musume made a quick decision and chose not to pursue, their faces showing resignation. This was a 3000-meter track, and to complete the full distance, they simply didn't have the ability to compete with Mayano Top Gun's sustained pace.
Mayano Top Gun thought the same thing about them. She didn't take them seriously at all, so she passed them without hesitation, leaving them behind like they were standing still.
Behind her, only one black-haired uma musume followed closely, refusing to fall back. Above that Uma Musume's nose was a distinctive white stripe, her eyes fierce as a demon god locked onto prey.
Right now, Narita Brian's gaze held only Mayano Top Gun. Nothing else existed in her world.
Uma musume who caught sight of Narita Brian's eyes moved aside one after another, instinct telling them to get out of the way. Even if Narita Brian wasn't at her peak anymore, wasn't the unstoppable force she used to be, she wasn't someone they could provoke without consequences.
"Haha! So you caught up after all?" Mayano Top Gun caught sight of Narita Brian from the corner of her eye and felt genuinely pleased, her competitive spirit igniting.
"Then let Maya show you something, the Blinfolded Monster-san!"
Her speed increased again, her yellow pupils flashing with golden light, pulled straight into the high-speed state as power flooded through her. She passed Iron Casting in the lead, like the other uma musume was jogging, while Narita Brian had also blown past Tokai Palace and Polaris.
"Has she already awakened her zone?" Hayato's voice was barely audible over the crowd noise. Hayato could clearly see the surging fighting spirit overflowing from Mayano Top Gun, visible almost as a physical aura.
That level of fighting spirit was almost approaching what he'd seen from the strongest uma musume, raw power barely contained.
That's right. This was Mayano Top Gun at her peak, at the height of her abilities.
Nothing strange about it when you think about the timeline. They were actually all from the same generation, just with different debut times that spread them out.
Narita Brian's peak was in her first debut year. Back then, Narita Brian was virtually undefeated, so dominant she couldn't find worthy opponents and had considered retirement out of sheer boredom.
Sakura Laurel endured pain trying to chase her shadow, pushing through injuries. The following year, Mayano Top Gun was also forced to debut while enduring injuries that should have kept her off the track.
And now was Mayano Top Gun's peak, her moment to shine, while Narita Brian was returning from injury, trying to reclaim what she'd lost.
"Mayano Top Gun has taken the lead! The race is entering the final thousand meters!"
Mayano Top Gun had secured first place, with Narita Brian close behind like a shadow. Their speed hadn't decreased at all, if anything, they were still accelerating, pushing harder.
"Are they really planning to keep accelerating all the way to the finish like this?" Tokai Palace's voice carried disbelief as she and Polaris followed close behind them, struggling to maintain the pace.
"This is a three-thousand-meter race tho. There's still a thousand meters to the finish. That's insane!"
It was precisely these two uma musume's brutal competition that left the crowd of uma musume behind them completely in the shadows, forgotten.
The rankings shifted again as the pack reorganized. Hagino Real King surged to fourth place with a strong push. Tokai Palace held third, Polaris dropped to fourth, Iron Casting fell back to sixth, her early lead evaporating.
Just when everyone thought Hagino Real King would push forward to challenge the leaders, Narita Brian suddenly burst forth with an explosive final kick that made the crowd gasp. Airflow wrapped around her body, visible as a distortion in the air.
BANG!
The air exploded with sound, the airflow churning violently around her like a miniature storm.
In just an instant, Narita Brian passed Mayano Top Gun, the gap closing and reversing so fast it seemed impossible.
"There it is! It's Narita Brian's final kick!!! She passed Mayano Top Gun!"
This final kick was far inferior compared to a year ago, when she was unstoppable, but it still showed everyone what they'd been desperately hoping to see. She wasn't completely finished.
Seeing this display of power, Hagino Real King chose to give up the chase immediately, her face showing shock.
"Has that Blindfolded monster actually returned?"
After Narita Brian displayed that devastating kick, no uma musume dared approach from behind, the gap between her and the pack widening as fear and respect kept them back.
Seeing Narita Brian's acceleration, Mayano Top Gun got even more excited, her whole body thrumming with energy.
"Hehe, not bad, Brian-san. Those guys behind are too much of an eyesore anyway. Let's compete up front where it matters!!"
This was just her inner voice running wild. Of course, you couldn't actually talk during high-speed running, that would be stupid.
Talking would waste precious breath and affect acceleration, ruin your rhythm completely. If dialogue appeared, that would only be in situations where they weren't running at full intensity.
So Narita Brian didn't know what Top Gun was thinking, didn't hear the excitement in her mental voice. She just wanted to prove one thing: She wouldn't lose to Mayano Top Gun, not today, as her comeback after a few months of training and recovery from injuries.
"Mayano Top Gun kicks into another gear! Her acceleration is smooth and fierce. She edges past Narita Brian bit by bit… and that gap just keeps growing, steady and unstoppable!"
"Mayano Top Gun is now shoulder to shoulder with Narita Brian! And… she's making her move, passing the Triple Crown champion right before our eyes!"
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I couldn't find a head-to-head illustration of Narita Brian with Mayano Top Gun, but at least there's something similar from narita brian vs orange hair uma musume(just consider it as Mayano Top Gun, I can't find any other illustration of Brian vs. Mayano).
(That person from the images is an 'illustration sketch' before theofficial orfevre out)
'on the other side chap 76'
Context: Initially, the Uma Musume team offered an illustration like that for Orvefre, but the owner refused and asked for a redraw that was more beautiful, and it eventually became the current Orvefre.