At the third corner, Air Groove found her opening and surged forward.
She needed to move into position early, so she could launch properly through the final corner.
The moment Air Groove made her move, Special Week followed right after her.
Compared to the others, Special Week's advantage was not especially obvious. Her trainer was still a rookie with limited experience, so most of her training focused on fundamentals and advanced physical work. Strategy and tactics had barely entered the picture.
Special Week did not know how to interfere with others.
She did not know how to bait them, either.
All she knew was how to run.
Shirayuki had once told her that she loved running with her, because when they ran together, all they had to do was enjoy the wind brushing past their ears.
No mind games.
No tripping each other up.
No second-guessing what the other was thinking.
In other words, Special Week was an incredibly pure runner.
And she had always remembered what Shirayuki said to her.
That was why Special Week would never actively block someone or mislead them.
She would simply keep running the way she believed she should.
She would keep running happily with Shirayuki.
So when she saw Air Groove move, Special Week did not understand the other girl's goal. She did not try to read Air Groove's intentions.
She only knew one thing.
It was time for her to speed up.
Following right behind Air Groove's steps, Special Week cut to the outside and chased after her.
"The race has entered the third corner! Pilsudski is pursuing El Condor Pasa, while Air Groove and Special Week have moved to the outside and are charging forward! Wait, this is—!"
All of a sudden, every uma musume on the track seemed to sense something.
From the rear of the pack came a sound like a bowstring being drawn taut.
Bang!
Grass and dirt exploded into the air.
The turf looked as if it had been carved open by some razor-sharp blade, leaving behind a long, narrow gouge.
A white figure flashed down the outside lane like lightning.
Her indigo-tinged long skirt fluttered wildly in the wind, and in the span of a single breath, she had already pierced into the middle of the pack.
The other uma musume all turned toward that figure.
Shock spilled across their faces.
Impossible.
They had not even reached the final corner yet...
Even the commentator was thrown off by the sudden change. She quickly reorganized her words, then shouted at the top of her lungs.
"It's the Snow Dancer! The race has reached the third corner, and the Snow Dancer has begun her sprint!"
El Condor Pasa, Pilsudski, Special Week, Air Groove, and the others all perked up their ears.
They had vaguely heard the commotion coming from behind them.
None of them expected Shirayuki to be the one causing it.
Shirayuki had started accelerating!?
They frowned as they looked toward the finish line, still nearly half a lap away.
There were still a full seven hundred meters left.
Was Shirayuki seriously trying to sprint for seven hundred meters!?
No.
She was probably just trying to find a better position.
No one believed that in a 2,400-meter race, someone could sprint for nearly one-third of the entire distance. Even if Shirayuki had stayed crouched near the rear and saved some stamina, after already running 1,700 meters, there was no way she had the leg strength for such a long sprint.
"Twelfth! Eleventh! Tenth! She's still accelerating! The Snow Dancer is still accelerating!"
The commentator's voice rose higher and higher.
The crowd's excitement began to boil with it.
At the front, El Condor Pasa and the others could not help but look back.
Then they saw Shirayuki charging toward them from the outside at terrifying speed.
That did not look like she was trying to find a position at all!
She was clearly coming for first place!
Are you kidding me!?
Yuki-chan, that is way too ridiculous!
El Condor Pasa snapped her gaze back toward the distant finish line.
At Shirayuki's current speed, she would reach them in another five seconds.
Now El Condor Pasa had two choices.
She could maintain her current rhythm, ignore Shirayuki's insane move, and wait for Shirayuki to run herself into the ground.
Or she could speed up too, and stop Shirayuki from overtaking her.
Her hesitation lasted less than half a second.
El Condor Pasa made her decision.
Accelerate!
She had no idea what Shirayuki was thinking.
But she knew Shirayuki.
Shirayuki would never do something so reckless without a reason.
In other words, Shirayuki was fully confident she could accelerate here.
If El Condor Pasa backed down now, there was a real chance she would be unable to catch Shirayuki again on the final straight!
The instant El Condor Pasa made her decision, Pilsudski behind her had already reacted.
She opened her stride and rushed directly to El Condor Pasa's side.
Unlike El Condor Pasa, she was not relying on familiarity with Shirayuki.
Her response came purely from experience.
That forward momentum proved that the Empress still had plenty of stamina left.
If Shirayuki was allowed to close in beside them, things would become extremely dangerous.
They absolutely could not let her come up!
On the observation platform, Symboli Rudolf stared at Shirayuki's move, her eyes wide.
She had watched countless races.
She had run in countless races.
But she had never seen anyone dare to accelerate in the Japan Cup from so far away from the finish.
Did Shirayuki not want to win?
No...
No, that was wrong.
Symboli Rudolf fixed her gaze on Shirayuki without blinking.
It was not that she did not want to win.
She was certain she would.
"Trainer Chiya, Shirayuki is..."
"Yeah."
Fujiwara Chiya wore the exact same expression as Shirayuki.
"She's in incredibly, incredibly good shape."
"The race has reached the final corner! Seventh place! The Snow Dancer has climbed all the way to seventh place!"
The commentator's voice was nearly hoarse.
She could see that the white figure showed not the slightest hint of decline. Shirayuki's steps were soft yet powerful. The moment her foot touched the ground, her ankle seemed to stretch a fraction longer, then her foot contracted, flinging her entire body forward.
Crap!
El Condor Pasa cursed inwardly.
Her pitch suddenly increased.
That brief moment of hesitation had already been seized by Pilsudski, and the gap between them instantly shrank to less than half a length.
Behind them, Air Groove raised the corners of her mouth.
She could feel it now.
The terrifying pressure coming from Shirayuki.
Right now, Shirayuki's aura had already surpassed hers by a huge margin.
Behind Air Groove, Special Week clenched her fists.
Her expression was firm.
And happy.
"Shirayuki..."
I'm so glad I get to race you.
"Mm."
A quiet hum reached Special Week's ears.
She turned and saw the white figure already rushing up beside her.
"Let's... settle this!"
"The race has entered the final straight! The Snow Dancer has reached fifth place! Currently leading is El Condor Pasa, with Pilsudski in second!"
Faster!
Faster!
El Condor Pasa gritted her teeth and threw everything into her stride.
Her lungs hurt like they were about to burst. Her feet ached with a sour, burning pain. Her blood boiled inside her body like it had caught fire.
She had already lost once.
That time, Shirayuki had defeated her with strategy.
El Condor Pasa had believed that in a pure contest of strength, Shirayuki would never match her.
But very soon, that belief was shattered by the sound racing up behind her.
One step.
One acceleration.
Shirayuki's pitch gradually settled into a steady rhythm, but her stride grew longer and longer.
As people watched her gallop forward, they could not help but imagine a white wolf hunting its prey across the open wilderness.
"Two hundred meters remaining! She's passed Special Week! She's passed Air Groove! She's passed Pilsudski! The Snow Dancer is charging toward El Condor Pasa in first place!"
Whoosh!
A fierce gust of wind roared past.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
El Condor Pasa's eyes widened as she stared at the pure white girl beside her.
Crystal beads of sweat scattered into the wind.
Those blue eyes were fixed straight ahead.
Her legs kicked high, and her body flowed through the air like a winding stream.
There was not a single trace of fatigue on that fair face.
In that instant, El Condor Pasa understood.
The Shirayuki standing here now had long since stopped being the Shirayuki she used to know.
Their paths overlapped for less than half a second.
Then Shirayuki surpassed her.
"She's passed El Condor Pasa! The Snow Dancer has taken first place! The Snow Dancer has taken first! One length! Two lengths... two lengths! Two lengths!! Across the line!"
As the commentator screamed, the entire stadium erupted.