Obey Your Master felt inexplicably indebted to Mejiro Sakura.
She had been biding her time for so many years, all for the day she could shine on the international stage.
To hide her true strength, she deliberately maintained an unappealing record of 3 wins and 3 losses in 23 matches until she came to Japan for the Japan Cup.
Hard work pays off.
Obey Your Master successfully defeated "White Inazuma" Tamamo Cross and "The Gray-Haired Monster" Oguri Cap, two of the strongest Umamusume from two different eras, to win the Japan Cup.
Before the era of the "Heisei Three," Tamamo Cross was considered the strongest Umamusume.
Before her defeat in the Japan Cup that year, she maintained a terrifying eight-game winning streak.
After Tamamo Cross's retirement, among the newly emerging "Heisei Three," "The Gray-Haired Monster" Oguri Cap was considered the strongest representative.
Obey Your Master's victories against Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap in the Japan Cup have always been her proudest achievement.
But looking at it now...
If it weren't for Mejiro Sakura's diagonal foul in April of the same year, the URA might not have introduced the demotion rule.
Then her results in the Japan Cup would not only be nullified,
but she would also be banned from competing in Japan again.
Now, suddenly being told that her proudest victory was only achieved because of Mejiro Sakura's influence...
How could she possibly accept that?
Obey Your Master suddenly felt her worldview crumble.
It even made her feel suffocated.
"Such a terrifying record, yet I never noticed it. So it's because she was banned, and she failed her first G1 match..."
Obey Your Master muttered, then reopened the Spring Tenno Sho race that Mejiro Sakura had participated in.
"Let's see who's number one in this race... F*CK!"
Obey Your Master cursed before finishing her sentence.
The Spring Tenno Sho that April.
The champion was Tamamo Cross.
"How could I forget? It's Tamamo Cross..."
Obey Your Master had a deep impression of Tamamo Cross's performance in the Spring Tenno Sho tournament that she participated in in April of the year she retired.
Because it was on that day that
Tamamo Cross broke through her Zone.
And it was after that battle that
Tamamo Cross was given the title of "White Inazuma."
Breaking through a Zone requires several conditions.
First, one must be in deep adversity.
Second, one must realize that the goal is not to defeat others, but to defeat oneself.
In that year's Spring Tenno Sho, there was only one Umamusume whose strength could threaten Tamamo Cross.
That was Mejiro Sakura, who had only debuted a year prior.
Therefore, it is self-evident who created the adversity for Tamamo Cross at that time.
Obey Your Master felt increasingly alarmed as she read on.
Mejiro Sakura was like a thread, connecting all the strongest Umamusumes of that year.
Obey Your Master initially harbored some wishful thinking, because she believed that although she wasn't penalized thanks to Mejiro Sakura, it was an undeniable fact that she had outrun Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap and won first place.
Now, she knew that the Umamusume who helped Tamamo Cross break through her Zone was very likely Mejiro Sakura.
And if Tamamo Cross hadn't broken through her Zone, she wouldn't have become a legend.
Even if she defeated Tamamo Cross, she wouldn't have achieved such fame.
Furthermore,
Oguri Cap broke through her Zone at the end of the same year, in Tamamo Cross's retirement match at Arima Kinen.
"If Tamamo Cross hadn't mastered the Zone, they wouldn't have created 'The Gray-Haired Monster.'"
"Mejiro Sakura's influence on me and on those who followed was far greater than I imagined..."
The wheels of Umamusume racing history rolled ever onward.
And the person who propelled this "Ash-Haired Era" was undoubtedly Mejiro Sakura.
Going back indefinitely is pointless, but Mejiro Sakura's indelible role in creating the "Ash-Haired Era" is undeniable.
Obey Your Master took several deep breaths, but couldn't calm her wildly pounding heart.
No one had ever imagined that all of this would be related to a single foul.
She was probably the first person in Japan—no, the world—to discover this secret.
After waiting a while longer, Obey Your Master finally calmed down a bit, then, with her hands trembling, she clicked on the recording of the Spring Tenno Sho race that had forged "White Inazuma."
She wanted to watch and see exactly what kind of adversity Mejiro Sakura had created for Tamamo Cross that had propelled her to break through her limits.
As the race progressed into its second half, Mejiro Sakura maintained her leading advantage.
Then, at a certain moment, Tamamo Cross's speed suddenly surged on the final straight.
Amid the gasps of the spectators, she overtook Mejiro Sakura and sprinted toward the finish line.
"So that's how it is... She maintained her lead until the very end. Mejiro Sakura is really strong."
Obey Your Master was quite satisfied after seeing Tamamo Cross break through and activate her Zone to surpass Mejiro Sakura. She closed her laptop and stood up.
But suddenly, Obey Your Master realized something was wrong.
"Wait a minute, when did Mejiro Sakura foul? She was already overtaken by Tamamo Cross, so why did she move diagonally?"
Thump
A thud resounded in her heart. The scene of her competition with Tamamo Cross in the Japan Cup flashed through her mind.
Her diagonal movement in the Japan Cup.
It was because she sensed that Tamamo Cross's incredibly powerful Zone had a danger zone.
The sheer power of Tamamo Cross's Zone after activation had even terrified her, who had also activated her Zone at the time.
"If I were to enter the danger zone around Tamamo Cross, I would be mentally affected by Tamamo Cross's aura and lose my chance of winning."
Obey Your Master made this astonishing judgment in an instant, decisively choosing to take a diagonal route on the final straight.
Only after avoiding the danger zone within Tamamo Cross's Zone could she accelerate and overtake to secure victory.
Now, in this Spring Tenno Sho,
Tamamo Cross was also present.
Tamamo Cross had also activated her Zone.
If Mejiro Sakura, who was behind Tamamo Cross, wanted to win...
Thinking this, Obey Your Master rushed back to her computer, quickly replaying the race and scrolling to the end.
Then, her blue eyes, sparkling with golden stars, widened suddenly. She involuntarily covered her mouth with her hands.
Because she saw it.
Having activated her Zone, Tamamo Cross was about to cross the finish line...
She was overtaken by Mejiro Sakura from behind.
--
--
In the Umamusume universe, Tamamo Cross broke through her Zone during the Tenno Sho competition in the autumn of the same year, in a race against Oguri Cap.
However, due to the protagonist's presence, this timeline was moved forward by six months.
The person who helped Tamamo Cross break through her Zone changed from Oguri Cap to Mejiro Sakura.
---