Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 232 A game at the beginning of a new era (7k)

Kitahara admitted that what he was thinking hit the nail on the head. After Akikawa Yayoi arranged for him to be the commentator of this game together with himself, he gradually became worried that he would not be able to complete this task well.

This is not the first time he has done commentary. He also made a guest appearance as a commentator when he went to Europe last time.

Although there were not a small number of spectators at that game, it was far from being as frighteningly enthusiastic as it is now.

Ultimately, he underestimated the impact of horse girls from many generations coming together.

But after all, this was proposed by the chairman himself.

He saw everything the chairman had done for the future of horse racing ladies.

He agreed with all of this and respected it from the bottom of his heart.

Since it was the chairman's request, he felt that it was a responsibility he could not shirk.

"Well, I have sorted out the basic ideas for the explanation and the draft, and I have memorized them many times."

In response to his colleagues' concern, Kitahara tried to smile and talked about the preparations for the battle in the past few days, "I think there should be no problem."

"And the chairman has also agreed to broadcast it on major TV stations, radio stations, and online platforms. There will be more professional commentators and experienced guests there."

"The chairman and I are also connected to the live broadcast. If there are any mistakes or if we realize there are problems with the commentary in advance, we will directly switch the commentary to a more professional direction."

Akikawa Yayoi's arrangements for this competition were not spur-of-the-moment, but were full of careful preparation.

As for the commentary, as Kitahara said, Akikawa Yayoi not only prepared the helicopter and all the commentary equipment, but also negotiated and authorized with major media outlets.

The purpose of doing this is to deal with the possibility of mistakes made by the two "temporary" commentators on the helicopter.

Hearing Kitahara say this, Yusuhara smiled with relief. Before he could say anything, Akikawa Yayoi suddenly opened her fan and held it upright in front of the two of them.

"Okay! We can talk about these things later!"

Then, she waved her fan and pointed at the helicopter as if she was going to go to war, "Don't waste time, Kitahara-san!"

"Let's quickly prepare the track commentary rehearsal so that we can give more time to the competitors."

"You know, although this competition is not formal, there are a lot of participants. It will take a lot of time just to introduce them, not to mention their warm-up."

"So hurry up, hurry up! Let's get on the plane!"

At this moment, the short chairman was like a child, his tone and actions were full of childishness.

Seeing this, Kitahara couldn't help but look at Yuhara, and they both smiled bitterly.

With so many spectators, such complete facilities, and a process that is almost the same as the official competition, how can this be informal, Mr. Chairman...

With such a helpless feeling, after saying hello, Kitahara followed Akikawa Yayoi who looked impatient and boarded the helicopter.

Just like the arrangement of this competition, the pilot of the helicopter is also very interesting and is an acquaintance of Kitahara.

Akikawa Yayoi's secretary, Suruga Tezuna.

Kitahara had never expected that this capable woman who assisted the chairman in coordinating the work of the academy was not only very skilled in various front desk and logistical work, but could even fly a helicopter.

For this reason, he had asked out of curiosity before.

The answer was that the chairman's secretary once encountered an emergency transportation situation.

It happened to be a training period, and the location was also at the seaside, but it was on the seaside near Tokyo.

A horse girl who was training there got into an accident and needed to be rushed to the hospital. The ambulance arrived in time, but Tsuna Tsuna still felt it was too slow.

So after that incident, she decided to get a helicopter pilot's license.

In her opinion, if she could fly a helicopter, then if she encountered a similar situation again, she might be able to get the injured horse girl to the hospital faster.

After hearing this experience, Kitahara understood everything and became more convinced that his guesses all along were correct.

In other words, Surukawa Tetsuna is actually the horse girl in history who won 10 games out of 10, a moment of harvest.

The reason for her retirement was mostly due to injury.

Normally gentle, steady, and reliable, she only loses her composure when she sees a horse girl getting hurt.

With this in mind, it is not surprising that she would worry about the injuries of her juniors and take the initiative to learn how to fly a plane.

Kitahara had this idea a long time ago, and with the current situation and some information, or "script" he got from Kurokawa Masato, he is now almost certain of the fact.

It's just that the person himself didn't mention it, and the reason why this world has no obvious history may be that the Kurokawa family played a role in it. So even if the truth is guessed now, there is no need to tell it out.

Junchuan Tezuna's flying skills seem to be excellent. After the helicopter took off, Kitahara, who was sitting inside, felt that it was still very stable, without any obvious bumps.

After rising to a height of about 300 meters, the helicopter stopped climbing and looked down, allowing the track, the horse girls and the spectators to be seen clearly.

With the help of telescopes and the broadcast images from ground cameras, there should be no visual impact on the commentary.

The people on the ground and the horse racing ladies were also looking up.

When taking off, the noise from the helicopter's propeller and tail was quite loud. After rising and circling for a while, the helicopter attracted a lot of attention.

However, the audience's attention soon shifted to the horse racing ladies near the starting point of the track, and the latter, who were the focus of attention, still held their heads high and looked straight ahead.

"The expressway, the open-air spectator seats, the trainer and the chairman's personal explanation, and this inexplicable helicopter..."

Standing on tiptoe, he tapped the ground, feeling the touch which was completely different from the stadium in his memory. Representative Qian Ming watched the helicopter hover for a while and then slowly flew away, with a smile on his face.

"It's really... a very interesting game."

"Well, I just wanted to come and have some fun because you asked so much, Luduo."

"But now that I see this competition is so interesting, I'll just take it seriously."

"By the way, if you lose to me by accident, don't cry secretly in the dormitory like you did back then~"

Only Representative Qian Ming dared to say so.

She was talking about the Emperor's Autumn Viewing Competition that Ludo participated in that year. In that competition, the latter, who was ranked No. 1 in popularity, unexpectedly lost to the Dyna, who was ranked No. 13 in popularity.

As for the crying incident, it has actually been spread by the outside world, but no one knows who spread it.

But when it comes to Ludo Symbol, no one dares to mention this matter, and many fans also expressed their firm belief that the strong and resolute Ludo Symbol would secretly cry because of a failure.

However, Representative Qian Ming, who is of the same generation, knows that this is true. She would only say that because the people present are all of the same generation and close friends who know the situation.

Even though she is now one of the top girls in the Japanese horse racing world, there was a time when she was immature. When she won consecutive battles and then suffered a sudden defeat, Rudo herself admitted that she was a bit naive at that time.

But no matter how open-minded he is now, Luduo still feels a little embarrassed when his dark history is revealed to him in person.

"Hey, Qianming, are you a little..."

Rubbing the bulging veins on his temple, Luduo was about to ask Representative Qianming for an explanation, but Katsuragi Ace interrupted her.

"Let's not talk about you and Luduo for now, Qianming!"

Clenching his fist tightly, as if he was going to punch Representative Chiaki, Ace Katsuragi swung his fist violently and shouted excitedly, "That Japan Cup! That Japan Cup that moved us so much! You won't forget it, right?!"

"You definitely wanted to go all out from the beginning. I don't believe in any casual play!"

"Fight me again, Representative Qianming!"

...this guy...x2.

Representative Qianming, who had been so carefree before, suddenly became helpless, and so did the representative Luduo.

After all, in that so-called Japan Cup that year, both of them were backstabbed victims by the champion, Katsuragi Ace.

And just as Ace Katsuragi said, upon hearing that he could fight against his former formidable enemy again, Representative Chiaki admitted that his heart beat faster.

She is a horse racing girl who yearns for freedom and has such a personality.

Otherwise, she would not have won so many games with the extremely abnormal chasing tactics back then, nor would she have won the championship in the Japanese Derby at the No. 18 outside gate position, breaking the common sense of the world.

She just wanted to run, ran, and won.

Just as she does whatever she thinks of in her life, this personality also makes her live alone in an independent dormitory like Maruzenski, so as not to cause trouble to others.

But no matter how free you are, it is only in running style, tactics and life.

No horse girl can truly be indifferent to winning or losing.

Even if they don’t fall into mental obstacles due to their obsession with victory, all horse girls share the same desire for victory.

Even if there are multiple stages, there is actually no so-called winner or loser in a single track. She feels that as long as she has it in her heart, it's enough.

In this relay race, she still wanted to defeat her two former strong rivals.

She believed that her friends and opponents thought the same way.

"...Wow, there's still some time before the race, but they seem to be eager to start."

Witnessing the conversations and expressions of his juniors of the same generation, Maruzenski smiled leisurely, as if he were just a spectator. "It looks like this will be a very intense game."

“I really hope that there will be more and more competitions like this in the future.”

"Don't you agree, Gao Feng?"

She turned around with a smile and asked Mejiro Takamine who was standing beside her.

"Isn't this what the seniors wanted?"

He responded with a smile, and looked between the Chiaki Representative, the Rudo Symbol, and the Katsuragi Ace who were looking at each other, and the corners of Mejiro Takamine's mouth raised even higher.

Then she looked in the direction the helicopter had left.

"Of course, that's what I hope for."

"After all, as an elder sister, I am looking forward to competing with two outstanding sisters and testing their strength..."

The helicopter has already patrolled the first stage of 4000 meters. Except for the unexpected number of spectators, Kitahara feels that everything else is under control.

This was not just the case in the first stage. After inspecting the next two stages, the situation was similar.

Outside the fences of each stage, the three-story makeshift stands were already packed with people.

Further outside, there were fans. Some of the brave ones drove their cars over and stood on the roofs, looking forward to the upcoming game with excitement on their faces.

At first, Kitahara wanted to try to use the high-altitude perspective to confirm where Komiyama and the others, as well as Tokugawa Shuu, Good Opera, and others were.

But with so many spectators and fans, looking from above one could only see a sea of ​​black heads and colorful cheering banners, ribbons, and balloons. It was difficult to distinguish which were people and which were Uma Musume, let alone tell who was who.

It was this intuitive spectacle that made Kitahara unable to help but worry about the commentary.

He even couldn't help but take out a booklet from his pocket and started flipping through it.

What was written on it was the model commentary that he had memorized dozens of times.

As a trainer, he is confident that he understands the players' situations better than any commentator or guest.

But commentary is a professional job after all. How to clearly and promptly report the current situation to the audience, how to mobilize the atmosphere, and how to control one's emotions all require certain professional qualities.

But before he had turned two pages, a spirited voice came from the front.

"No! Don't ever back down in fear, Kitahara-san!"

Without looking up, Kitahara knew it was Akikawa Yayoi's voice.

After looking up in surprise, he found that sitting in the front passenger seat, Akikawa Yayoi was wearing a headset, half turned around, and handed him a stack of documents.

"Hey, look at this."

"This is……?"

Kitahara reached out to take the document, but before he opened it, he heard Akikawa Yayoi, who had asked him to look through it, start to speak impatiently.

“I plan to try to promote this kind of relay race.”

"The original idea was to put it in the school festival and the orientation ceremony."

"I hope that the future activities of the academy will not only be the light-hearted club activities like before, but also include activities that show the horse girls running."

“Then there’s only competition.”

This idea is not difficult to understand. Kitahara also believes that if one wants to showcase the academy and Uma Musume to the outside world and freshmen, the best way is indeed through competition.

The setting of the relay race is very suitable, with multiple tracks and multiple runners. The running method and tactical arrangement are not as intense as the formal competition. The physical exertion and pressure of each runner will be much smaller, and it will not affect the training and subsequent competitions.

However, while Akikawa Yayoi was explaining, Kitahara simply flipped through the document and soon exclaimed.

"Extended to the Shining Star Series? Would... URA Association allow this? Wait... these joint names?!"

What he exclaimed at first was the content in the document regarding the "Draft of the New Shining Star Competition", which is "extension".

Judging from the documents, these were ideas that Yayoi Akikawa had been preparing for a long time, and the key nodes of their introduction were this relay race and the subsequent promotion in the college.

In fact, Kitahara was surprised by this alone because he had not expected it. He did not expect Akikawa Yayoi to act so quickly and decisively. He remembered that he first learned that the latter had similar ideas only half a year ago, but now there is already a draft.

In other words, he was mentally prepared for this part.

He was totally unprepared for what he saw next.

"Ah, you mean the joint signature."

Turning around and looking through the windshield of the cab at the track stretching far ahead, Akikawa Yayoi did not have her usual childish and excited smile on her face. Instead, she looked like the chairman of the Central Tresen College, with a look of confidence that everything was under control.

"Well, it took some time."

"The juniors like Ten O'clock, Fujimasa Boy, and Green Grass are okay. They still give me face."

"Especially when they heard that Maruzenski was going to participate in this event, they were a little resentful that I didn't tell them earlier."

"I really can't help it. These younger generations are such a headache for me."

“But I understand.”

"After all, although the Arima Kinen was very exciting, both the outside world and they themselves hoped that Maruzenski could also participate."

"The strongest... well, it gives me a headache. Just like the kids, we all want this title, hahahaha!"

She showed a little of her usual childish smile, then immediately became serious again.

"It's easier to say about Tesco Jiabi and the others. Although I was competing in Europe back then, I was actually closer to them in terms of time. I guess we were in the same period."

"To be honest, if the chairman wasn't so busy with work, I might have the same idea as them and want to try to play again."

"As for Heisek-senpai's generation, Takeshiba-senpai's generation, Speed ​​Symbol, and Shenzan-senpai, they can only say they are supportive."

"Even if they have completely mastered the domain, it is not omnipotent. They really cannot resist the decline of strength caused by age."

“But they just need to be supportive.”

"Also..."

When he said this, the chairman subconsciously withdrew his gaze from outside the helicopter for a moment, glanced in the direction of the driver's seat, and then continued:
"I was quite surprised that Senior Nian Teng would take the initiative to come to me to discuss this matter."

“But no matter what, I am always excited to receive support from my predecessors.”

“It also makes my planning more confident.”

"And I think you, Kitahara-san, have made an indelible contribution to all this."

Finally, Akikawa Yayoi suddenly changed the subject.

"……I?"

Kitahara, who was flipping through documents with mixed feelings, was stunned.

He was in shock.

Because the series of names mentioned by Akikawa Yayoi that he had just seen were all names that would be recorded in the history of Japanese horse racing girls.

Any one of them can almost represent an entire generation.

For example, the closest ones to us are Ten O'clock, Midori Kusa, and Fujimasa Boys. The "TTG" generation they represent is definitely a generation that cannot be ignored in the horse racing girls world.

The Arima Kinen race in which the three participated represented the end of the race and became one of the most classic races because of the final 200-meter fight to the death on the straight line.

Maruzenski happened to be a horse racing girl of that generation, and her retirement due to injury before the Arima Kinen also led to endless speculation among countless fans.

The same is true for other names, and this list of names all supports Akikawa Yayoi's draft.

This was something Kitahara had never expected.

What he didn't expect was that Akikawa Yayoi would say that he also contributed to this.

"That's right!"

Nodding with great certainty, Akikawa Yayoi half turned around again and looked straight at me, "If it weren't for your discovery in the field, they would never dare to support my draft like this."

"A trainer like you should know that every name on this list represents legendary strength."

"They are all horse girls who have completely mastered their field."

"That's why, even though they don't have the knowledge theory you have, they are very clear about one thing."

"Without the blessing of the domain, the horse girl will no longer be able to participate in the competition after the transformation."

"Otherwise, getting hurt is the most fortunate consequence."

“But you gave a future beyond this consequence.”

"To paraphrase a senior, you have given the horse racing ladies a fantastic opportunity to feel the speed of the wind again."

"I know that research in this field is not yet mature, but you will never give up."

"You will definitely be able to completely take the God's gift from the three goddesses for all the horse girls."

"Then, the day will come sooner or later when all horse girls can stand on the stage they want."

“It was a new era.”

"And I think that when we enter that era and look back at the present, everyone will feel that today's seemingly playful game is just a prelude to the opening of a new era."

"That's why I insisted that you be the one to explain it."

"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely do not shrink from this moment that will be remembered, Kitahara-san."

"Everything you said today may be recorded in history."

With a swish, when she came to this point, Akikawa Yayoi opened the fan and spread it in front of Kitahara as if she was going to hand it to him.

"I'm not going to say relax, don't be nervous, don't be stressed, like some other people are saying."

"You are a person who performs better when you are under pressure."

"Well, just kidding, if you were a horse girl, you might be the kind of prodigy who performs mediocrely in events below G1, but might win all the G1s."

"So, instead, I want to tell you everything you are carrying now."

"This game is not entertainment, nor is it the end."

“Chacha is just the beginning.”

"For everything that has begun, don't be afraid to back down, and do your best to take on everything that comes next, Kitahara-san."

Akikawa Yayoi's words left Kitahara in a long silence, which lasted until three o'clock in the afternoon.

This is the moment when all the horse girls participating in this relay race have made their debut, warmed up, and stood at their respective starting lines.

During this period of silence, he was no longer worried about the commentary, and he didn't even think about the commentary or anything else.

He just fell into a strange trance because he suddenly saw that his past dream seemed to be within reach.

To use a similarly strange metaphor, it would be like a girl you've always had a crush on suddenly telling you one day that she's always had a crush on you.

At this time, Kitahara felt that he really couldn't think of anything.

But just as Akikawa Yayoi said, he does seem to be the type who performs better the more pressure he is under.

Perhaps this is also the reason why he is such a workaholic.

For this reason, when faced with the "new" job of interpretation, I learned it naturally.

"All the horse girls are entering the gate."

Just like other competitions, the race started from a height of 300 meters, staring down at the dark road that appeared between the crowds of people like Moses parting the sea. Kitahara watched the five familiar figures enter the gate.

Afterwards, instead of reporting the situation on the track in a rigid manner like a regular commentator, he decided to follow his own heart and speak in his own unique commentary style.

“Perhaps some fans will be very confused as to why Uma Musume uses gates at the start instead of starting blocks like ours.”

"The answer is simple: they are too powerful."

"At 60 kilometers per hour, the starting blocks used by humans will be broken in a split second, and even the best reinforcements can hardly guarantee that they will not break down."

"Not to mention that the runners at the head of this relay race are legends in the entire history of Japanese horse racing."

Normally the commentator would name the positions of the horse girls at the gates one by one at such times, but Kitahara did not do that this time. His words were more like an evaluation and explanation of the guest than a commentary.

Paradoxically, the audience listening to the radio often become excited because of the emotional stimuli of the commentary.

But at this moment, just hearing such a straightforward opening statement, the cheers that were already as loud as a tsunami, now seemed to be gushing out from below as if to overturn the helicopter.

Kitahara didn't give any buffer time to the audience who were already in a frenzy before the show even started, or maybe it was not that he didn't give them any time.

As he was speaking, he heard confirmation from the ground staff that they were ready via the headset.

After replying, he stared at the five closed gates below, and the moment they opened, he gave the signal for the start of the game without any error.

"Start!"

“All the horse girls had an excellent start. The first horse girls had been away from the race for a long time, but their strength did not decline because of this. They had a very beautiful start!”

"Not only has their strength not declined, but it may have even improved. Their starting speed is very fast, and the speed measurement shows that their speed at the moment is very close to the sprint at the end of some competitions!"

"very beautiful!"

With the technology of the Yongshi team and the resource support of Akikawa Yayoi, this competition was the same as the team's previous habits, with more sophisticated and advanced equipment than those in major competitions.

The data collection results of the equipment will be transmitted to the instrument in real time and synchronized to the display screen on the helicopter.

Through those data and experience, Kitahara can explain the situation more accurately.

"Unlike most races, the five runners did not aggressively switch positions to try to grab the lane. The 5-meter track is longer than any other race, so it was a wise decision to hold off on trying to grab a position at the start to preserve their energy."

"The one currently leading is Katsuragi's ace player. She is leading the race just like she did back then. I think her current position should not be surprising to all the fans."

"The unexpected thing was that second place player Maruzenski did not lead the way, as she had done before. She did not compete with Katsuragi Ace for the lead."

"There is a gap of 2 1/5 horse lengths between her and Katsuragi's ace at the moment."

"Following closely behind were Ludo Symbol and Mejiro Peak. Both players chose to go in the opposite direction, maintaining a gap of 1 and 1/2 lengths from Maruzenski who went in the lead."

"The player in the last place is Qian Ming, which should be within everyone's expectations."

"I think you all have not forgotten that this counterintuitive horse racing girl used this running tactic to win many victories many times in the past."

"She is three horse lengths ahead of the front."

With these words, Kitahara has actually completely assumed the duties of commentator and guest.

It was not that he wanted to snatch the words from Yayoi Akikawa, but because his voice sounded normal at the moment, like that of a professional commentator.

But his mind was already filled with "Oh shit", just like a computer bug that was flooding the screen with comments.

He wasn't completely honest with the audience, especially with his starting speed.

Being able to make real-time measurements through professional instruments, he can easily tell the exact speed of the five horse girls below him, just like he does with the position difference.

Moreover, he can actually tell the distance difference more accurately, and can also give the data accurate to two decimal places.

The problem is that if the latter data were really made public, the cheers from the audience below would probably turn into exclamations.

The speed of those five horse racing girls was not even close to the finish line speed of some races.

Their finishing speed far exceeded that of most official competitions.

The speed difference cannot be felt just by the naked eye or the wind created by the horse girl, but many of the audience know what this speed means, and once the truth is revealed, it will definitely cause a sensation.

Kitahara knew the reason for this speed better.

Rudo symbolizes that they...are all in a state of territory at this moment.

Sure enough, they participated in this competition with the intention of avenging what happened in the past...

Forcibly suppressing the complex emotions in his heart, Kitahara continued to explain:

"Perhaps it was because of the understanding and tacit understanding between the former rivals, or perhaps it was because of the daily interactions between the five players as friends, but they did not make many moves in the opening stages. They quickly approached the middle of the first leg..."

"and many more!"

Just as he judged the reality that the five horse girls had all entered the field unexpectedly or expectedly, Kitahara's heart was once again filled with thoughts like a computer bug as he stared at the track and saw the team changes at this moment.

"Maruzen... ahem, it's Maruzenski..."

"Contestant Maruzenski suddenly accelerated!"

(End of this chapter)