Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 144 Tokyo Yujun · Japanese Derby
As he walked out of the underground passage and squinted his eyes at the suddenly bright view, Beibu Xuanju's mind echoed with the last conversation he had with his predecessors.

Or it was a question that suddenly occurred to her.

"Um... Emperor-senpai, I have a question. I had a dream a few days ago, and suddenly I thought of you before the Japan Derby. What were you thinking about?"

At that time, not only the Emperor of the East China Sea, but also other seniors were stunned.

"Japanese Derby..."

He smiled, and memories flashed in Senior Emperor's eyes.

"The winner's stage, probably."

"Eh...?" She was completely surprised by the answer.

"The Emperor means," Senior Golden Ship said with a smile, "that before the competition, she was already thinking about what would happen after winning."

"Well, that's about right."

Holding his hands behind his head, showing a playful look that he rarely showed in front of outsiders, the emperor said with a smile:
"And I'm not just thinking about the winner's stage. I'm also thinking about what I'm going to say after I meet the president."

"That's still a matter of victory..."

"By the way, Xiaote and Vodka, where are you two?"

Ignoring the complaints of Senior Golden Ship, Senior Emperor looked at Senior Special Week and Senior Vodka.

"Do I have any more vodka?"

After nodding his chin and thinking for a while, Senior Zhou waved his fist.

"As for me... I'm thinking about how to win."

"How do you win the game?"

Her ears moved, and she couldn't help but ask, "Then... what did you think of?"

"that is……"

Comparing one hand to the runway and the other to himself, Senior Zhou smiled and said:
"I was thinking, 'Whoosh out of the gate, whoosh away, whoosh whoosh, whoosh whoosh' across the finish line.'"

"Ah...?" She was stunned again.

"As expected of you, Xiao Te. Now it's my turn. Before the Japanese derby..."

After patting Senior Tokai Zhou on the shoulder, Senior Vodka thought for a moment, then pointed at Yamato Akagi with a smile.

"You should think that you must beat her this time."

"Beat Yamato-senpai? Yamato-senpai...didn't he not participate in that Japanese derby?"

"Yeah, but what does it matter?"

Senior Vodka laughed and said, “I originally thought that since she won the Sakura Contest first, I must win it back at the Oaks Contest.

“In the end, she caught a cold and couldn’t participate, so I decided on the Japanese Derby.

“No mare has won this race in over 60 years, so if I win, I might be able to pull something back.

"Anyway, that's what I think."

To be honest, the various responses were completely beyond Northern Xuanju's expectations.

But after a while, she suddenly discovered that the ideas of her predecessors, which were very different in style, were exactly what she had just heard from Yasui Makoto.

No matter how your opponent runs, you must never forget your own rhythm.

She repeated this instruction in her mind again, took a deep breath, and walked towards the green grass illuminated by the afternoon sun.

In an instant, as if it had become a physical entity, cheers from the audience mixed with the commentator's shouts came towards us.

"The Japan Derby is finally about to begin.

“Who will be the horse girl this year, what kind of running style will she use, and what kind of race will she bring?
"Will it be the thunderous roar of the final sprint at the Zhongshan track that shook the entire stadium? Will that kind of speed be unleashed again on the long final straight at the Fuzhong track this time?
"Will it be Satomi Kōran, who carries the family's dream of winning a G1 event, who can win this heavyweight championship?

"Or is it the northern black horse who has won so many games in a row and is on track to become the undefeated double champion, and who has caused a storm in the Gaoyue Sho?"

The moment his name echoed over the stadium, Northern Xuanju's ears moved unconsciously.

The sound waves from the audience were even louder, making her eardrums tingle. With a faint shudder, she looked over, her gaze sweeping across the hundreds of thousands of figures. Her mouth opened slightly for a moment, and she finally looked to the front, directly in front of the finish line.

Just like when I walked towards the entrance of the underground passage, the seniors were already standing there, waving at me with a smile.

Also waving was Yasui Makoto.

After waving his hand, the trainer, who seemed very familiar with him, reached into the shoulder bag that he always carried with him and took out a telescope.

For no reason, she smiled.

She nodded heavily towards those expectant and encouraging gazes, and took another deep breath, just like when she stepped onto the green grass.

Turn around and walk towards the gate.

……

At 15:35, the exclusive orchestral music for the Japanese derby sounded over the Tokyo stadium on time.

The passionate music made the cheers even louder, but standing in the gate, Northern Xuanju felt unusually calm.

No matter how your opponent runs, you must never forget your own rhythm...stay unchanged and respond to all changes.

Musing on this instruction, she slowly turned sideways, crossed her left arm in front of her, and stepped her right leg slightly behind her, assuming a running stance.

Looking straight ahead, he quickly scanned the conditions of the inner and outer runways, focusing on the upper edge of the closed gate.

He moved his ears slightly, lowering them slightly to filter out useless noise and concentrate on catching the cues of the commentary.

"The most crucial competition to determine the top of the modern era, the Tokyo Yujun Japan Derby.

"Eighteen incredibly talented horse racing girls, each with their own dreams, are ready to take off at the gates.

"Doing everything in my power, waiting for the moment when I will finally win the honor with endless perseverance...

"Start!"

The moment the excitement of the commentary clarification resounded, my ears accurately caught the sound of the floodgates opening.

Beibu Xuanju's eyes flickered, and all the muscles in his body suddenly tightened, and his left leg in front jumped out like a spring.

While rushing forward, he did not forget to glance left and right.

My gate position in this game is the outside lane No. 17, which has disadvantages that cannot be ignored. In theory, I have to spend more time running to cut into the more advantageous inside lane.

But there is more than just cutting inside when exiting the gate!
In the blink of an eye, she judged the exit situation of No. 16 on the left and No. 18 on the right, and without hesitation, she gave up cutting inside and ran straight to the front.

"Guardian No. 6 was a little slow to start, but the other horse girls all had ideal starts."

The commentator reported the situation at the gate truthfully.

“First, we came to the stands, and No. 1 Satomi Pentium and No. 3 Comet Mitt quickly pulled out.

“No. 18 Tagano Coffee and No. 14 Mingsheng Leidong ran to the inside at the same time.

"The number 10 Ribbon Triumph player rushed out, chasing after Satomi Benten and Comet Mitt... and overtook them!

“Ribbon Clicquot is currently in the lead!

"The Northern Black Horse is also charging up! She didn't rush to occupy the inner side of the huddle, but rushed directly from the outside!"

There were cheers from the audience, as well as screams at the chaos at the beginning.

"Oh! Xiaobei's reaction is pretty good!"

Yamato Akagi nodded repeatedly and said:
"I was worried that her outside gate would be difficult to handle, but I didn't expect her to choose to give up the inside in exchange for a position advantage."

"Don't underestimate our junior," Vodka said with a smile, "You've seen how hard she works. Besides, it's cool to charge forward all at once!"

"Handsome...but..."

Silent Suzuka suddenly frowned.

"Xiao Bei... doesn't look like you intend to grab the lead?"

(End of this chapter)