Even from the side, anyone could see it clearly.
From the three-furlong mark, the field of seventeen Uma Musume had split as if into two separate worlds. Sixteen figures thundered along the well-maintained inner track, charging straight toward the bend and the roaring crowd. Far out on the outer track, running her own race, was a single tall figure.
That tall figure entered the bend as well.
In an instant, the wall of opponents to her right cast a long shadow across her. As the shadow stretched like ink over her cheeks, Gold Ship gritted her teeth. Every muscle fiber in her body began to tremble with the motion.
The surge of cheers from the stands washed over her, but in her ears only the roar of her own heartbeat remained.
When that roar peaked, her ears caught Kizuna's gasp, the trembling of bells ahead, chaotic hoofbeats, and ragged breaths.
Did you feel it? This overwhelming surge from the great me…
But… it's a little late, isn't it?
She whispered silently to the air with a smirk, eyes locked on the leading group as she charged forward.
A turbulent wave rose on the track. Splashing grass and mud flew up in perfect crescents, carved by an unstoppable force.
The commentator's voice rang out uncontrollably.
"Here she comes! Here she comes! It's the legendary Unsinkable Battleship! At this moment, the golden battleship… weighs anchor! Sets sail!"
The boiling cheers from the stands twisted under the commentator's shouts, rolling across Kyoto Racecourse like deep-sea thunder.
The horses on the track seemed unable to withstand the turbulent winds and waves. Their hoofbeats on the opposite straight blurred and stretched, like the desperate wails of fish fleeing a predator in the ocean.
"Tenth! Seventh! Fifth… Fourth! Fourth!"
The announcer's cry pierced the sky. "Gold Ship has charged into fourth!
Not a latecomer! Not a latecomer! Gold Ship's running style in this race isn't that of a closer!
She's running in a leading position! A leading position!
Gold Ship is running in the lead position!
She is now neck and neck with Curren Chan!
Ahead, Chicheng Benlei and Huanying Jifeng are desperately trying to escape, and behind, Lovely Day and Win Variation are desperately chasing!
But… Gold Ship is running in the lead this time!"
Once again, the high slope on the right side of Kyoto Racecourse met the impact of seventeen Uma Musume. Seventeen afterimages cut into the bend at different angles, like a pod of whales breaking through the waves — or rather, a giant battleship riding the wind and waves alongside the chased pod.
The moment they breached the entrance to the final straight, the shouts of tens of thousands were suddenly pressed down into the deep sea.
In the battleship's captain's cabin, all trivial parameters vanished. Only the course and the target remained as guidance.
A sense of déjà vu spread through Gold Ship's entire body.
The tensed muscles in the back of her neck twitched. A subtle tremor rolled down her spine to her tailbone, like the first vibration of a fully drawn bowstring.
The wind pressure tore at her earlobes. The stinging at the base of her fur made her squint involuntarily.
Yet her vision stayed as clear as when she had set sail.
From the corner of her eye, she caught the afterimage of the golden bells shaking on Curren Chan's body, the strong wind raised by Lovely Day behind her, and the silver line her own tail whipped through the air.
The astringent scent of broken grass stems mixed with the earthy smell of mud filled her nostrils. The salty sweat droplets flung from Chicheng Benlei ahead tasted like spilled lemon-sea salt soda.
The roar of her heart pumping blood grew even louder, each thud numbing her molars.
Her jaw trembled, and she accidentally bit her tongue.
A metallic taste exploded in her mouth. The faint taste of blood became the switch that awakened her muscles to full effort.
Small scrapes from training flashed in her mind, along with the unforgettable bitterness she had tasted out of curiosity when applying medicine.
Accompanied by that faint bitterness, the finish line she had seen from afar twice before appeared.
Suddenly, she felt suffocated and wanted to breathe deeply.
But she didn't.
She maintained the breath-holding necessary for the final sprint, leaving only a tiny gap in her lips to greedily draw in what little oxygen she could.
With a grin, her canines bit into the oncoming wind.
In a trance, she felt as if she was biting into the training schedule the old man had given her, biting into the nutritional supplements her sisters had secretly left with awkward voices, biting into the support from her friends amid their playful teasing, and biting into the curious and longing gazes of her juniors.
The moment she finally pushed off the ground, she felt her bones creak like a ship crossing the ocean.
This body was no longer a small sailboat that couldn't withstand the storms.
Every inch of muscle had been tempered by wind, frost, rain, and snow. Every blood vessel flowed with the sunlight and moonlight of the training grounds. Every inch of skin was imprinted with the lingering warmth of victory and the unwillingness of defeat.
Closer. The finish line she had crossed twice before was even closer.
Suddenly, she remembered the mirror in the changing room that morning.
It hadn't reflected just a tall, silver-haired Uma Musume deliberately making strange faces.
It had also reflected a golden battleship that had weathered countless storms — the only one of its kind.
This is the third time on this course… Huh?
A sudden wave of exhaustion spread through her body. She stopped, somewhat bewildered, only then realizing that at some point she had shifted from a heedless sprint to a slow jog.
No, not strange.
She had unknowingly crossed the finish line and was jogging out of habit from daily training.
So… what was the result of this long voyage…?
Snapping back to reality, she abruptly turned toward the racecourse's display board.
Before her blurred vision could even focus, deafening shouts mixed with the commentator's cracking voice crashed over her like a tsunami.
"She did it! She did it!
Finally! She overtook Curren Chan and held off Chenming Youxi! She…
Did it!
Three attempts at the Tenno Sho (Spring), and she's finally claimed the shield! The golden battleship has arrived in Kyoto!
The champion of this Tenno Sho (Spring) is…
Gold Ship!!"
She paused again. In her vision, the familiar yet unfamiliar name on the distant display board became clear.
Her lips curled into an uncontrollable wide grin. She instinctively raised her arms, loosely clenching her fists in a habitual pose, and murmured:
"Well, the commentator sounds much better this time. But was that a haiku just now? Or a couplet? It sounds a bit odd…
If it's a couplet, then it's missing a line. What was that missing one called again…
Forget it, it doesn't matter. I'll just add a line myself.
What should I add…
Oh, right.
Glory! Everything's settled! Hahahaha!"
With her hands on her hips, she laughed heartily as if no one else was around. Then she suddenly saw an old man inside the finish line area, waving at her with a look of profound satisfaction.
Beside the old man, a Uma Musume with short black hair and black braids also smiled contentedly, waving vigorously at her.
Unable to contain herself, she rushed over with a mix of surprise and joy, leaping over the railing as if to kick someone.
Clearly startled, the black-haired Uma Musume immediately hoisted the old man onto her shoulders and stepped back, casting a reproachful look at Gold Ship.
Gold Ship didn't mind. After coming to a stop, she put her hands on her hips again and burst into laughter.
"Hey! I told you this race would definitely be fine!
You saw it, old man, big sister. I…
Did it!!"