The pressure of the race now rested on Golden Crown Eagle.
Although she didn't think she would lose to Sakura Baimu, seeing Sakura Baimu barely slow down as she entered the third turn made her begin to panic.
Sakura Baimu's raw strength was even more terrifying than Mejiro McQueen's.
Her first acceleration, while barely managing to catch up with Sakura Baimu's speed, had a negligible effect.
The gap didn't narrow significantly.
Golden Crown Eagle finally reached the steep slope. Because she was running too fast, her heart was under even greater pressure as she climbed it.
As a result, she experienced a noticeable loss of speed on the slope.
Seeing the gap she had painstakingly closed widen again, Golden Crown Eagle knew she couldn't afford to delay any longer.
She immediately decided to activate her Zone.
Her foot slammed down, and with a muffled, explosive sound, Golden Crown Eagle shot off like a cannonball, chasing after Sakura Baimu.
Dark green flames blazed in Golden Crown Eagle's eyes, and her aura surged with the activation of her Zone.
However, because she was currently too far from Sakura Baimu, her aura had no effect whatsoever.
"A mere dozen Lengths' difference? Watch me catch up in three seconds."
Golden Crown Eagle's lips curled into a grin again. Each activation of her Zone meant she was about to catch up with the Umamusume ahead.
Golden Crown Eagle's speed increased dramatically.
"Here she comes!" Symboli Rudolf cried out, her heart pounding with tension.
She didn't want to see an Umamusume without a Zone defeat an Umamusume with a higher-level Zone through sheer strength.
However, Symboli Rudolf was even more determined not to see Sakura Baimu lose.
Two conflicting thoughts swirled in Symboli Rudolf's mind, making her incredibly tense.
This time, the gap between Golden Crown Eagle and Sakura Baimu began to close rapidly.
In just two seconds, the significant difference between them had vanished.
At this speed, she would catch up with Sakura Baimu in about a second.
Just as Golden Crown Eagle's smile deepened, she suddenly noticed Sakura Baimu, about five Lengths ahead of her, slightly lowering herself.
With a muffled thud, Sakura Baimu, under the stunned gazes of countless onlookers, accelerated like a rocket.
At that moment, just like Golden Crown Eagle, white energy swirled around Sakura Baimu.
Golden Crown Eagle, Obey Your Master, Symboli Rudolf, and even Maruzensky, who witnessed this, were all startled.
They then realized what had happened.
Sakura Baimu's initial speed—
a speed that Golden Crown Eagle couldn't match even after accelerating once.
A speed that even forced her to activate her Zone to catch up.
This was Sakura Baimu's speed before she even began to accelerate.
"When she overtook Golden Crown Eagle at the finish line last night, she hadn't even accelerated to the point of creating airflow?!"
Maruzensky exclaimed, looking at Symboli Rudolf. She felt her memory must be playing tricks on her.
Then she noticed that Symboli Rudolf's eyes were also filled with shock.
The answer was clear.
Maruzensky was deeply shaken. She was about to turn her gaze back to the track when she suddenly noticed Symboli Rudolf's eyes narrow, as if she had seen something incomprehensible.
Maruzensky quickly turned back to the track, and her pupils also contracted, her mouth involuntarily widening.
Because she saw that the gap between Golden Crown Eagle, who had activated her Zone and whose aura was incredibly powerful, and Ogura had widened once again.
"Even the fully activated Golden Crown Eagle can't keep up with 'Ogura's' speed?!" Maruzensky was shocked again.
Obey Your Master in the audience felt like she'd seen a ghost today.
Their Pluto Academy's strongest active-duty Umamusume, Golden Crown Eagle, who had mastered a higher level of Zone, couldn't keep up with the speed of an ordinary Umamusume who hadn't even activated her Zone yet, even with her Zone fully activated!
"What's going on?! How could this happen???"
Obey Your Master stared intently at Sakura Baimu, dressed in the red Tracen Academy tracksuit.
Watching her, with a faint white aura, crush Golden Crown Eagle behind her, who exuded an immense aura.
Obey Your Master, for a moment, didn't even know if she was dreaming.
Speaking of shock...
There was probably no one in the entire audience more shocked than Golden Crown Eagle.
Shocked?
No, utterly terrified.
"Even with my Zone activated, I can't catch her?"
The stark reality, a cruel despair, overwhelmed Golden Crown Eagle, leaving her unable to believe what she was witnessing.
"No, absolutely impossible! How could this be?!"
"Even 'Emperor' Symboli Rudolf, even the 'Monster' Oguri Cap, couldn't possibly surpass my speed without activating her Zone! Who is this Umamusume? What is she?!"
This illogical scene plunged Golden Crown Eagle into utter chaos.
Her speed was already terrifying to everyone.
Yet, she couldn't even keep up with Sakura Baimu ahead.
Golden Crown Eagle desperately quickened her pace, squeezing every last drop of air from her lungs to increase her speed.
She felt the burning pain in her lungs, and looking at Sakura Baimu, whose distance hadn't diminished at all, she suddenly felt dizzy and overwhelmed by despair.
"Why?! I've already activated my Zone! I can't accelerate any further!"
"Why?! Why can't I catch up with her?!"
"She's just an Umamusume without a Zone activated—why?! How dare she?!"
Golden Crown Eagle began to scream hysterically in her mind.
Looking at Sakura Baimu, who had already crossed into the final straight and was running toward the finish line, she experienced this feeling of utter helplessness for the first time.
It was a gap so vast that no matter how hard she tried, she could never bridge it.
Utter despair!
Golden Crown Eagle felt an unbearable heartache; she didn't even realize that tears were streaming down her face.
Those tears were a mixture of intense resentment and overwhelming helplessness.
Suddenly, Golden Crown Eagle's heart skipped a beat.
Because she saw that Sakura Baimu's figure suddenly growing rapidly larger in her vision.
The next instant, Golden Crown Eagle had caught up with Sakura Baimu.
She didn't understand what had happened to Sakura Baimu or how she had suddenly been caught up to.
Golden Crown Eagle was overjoyed. She quickly turned to look at Sakura Baimu beside her, and then her pupils dilated sharply.
She discovered—
Sakura Baimu had imitated her actions from the previous night, suddenly stopping.