The training grounds.
Minamizaka looked at Barbatos's excited expression and knew there was no stopping her from using her [Zone] for training. He chuckled helplessly.
Swiping a few times on his tablet, he handed it to Barbatos.
"Here, I found some videos of overseas Uma Musume who specialize in starts. Take a look."
Domestically, the fastest Uma Musume off the blocks, whether active or retired, was undoubtedly Silence Suzuka. Her starting form and technique could be studied and referenced, but trying to use her own start to beat her was impossible.
So, if Barbatos wanted to close the gap on Silence Suzuka's start and prevent her from running away, she'd need to learn from overseas Uma Musume as well.
As for domestic techniques, Minamizaka had already shared those videos with Barbatos earlier.
In her current state, with the data recorded, Barbatos could be considered among the top three active Uma Musume when it came to starts.
"Thanks."
Barbatos took the tablet and, pulling Seiun Sky along, headed for a patch of grass to study the overseas Uma Musume' starting techniques.
Just as she was about to call Twin Turbo over too, she noticed the other girl lying on the grass, looking miserable.
"Twin Turbo, what's wrong?"
She walked over and asked with concern.
Due to her build, Twin Turbo had the poorest stamina in Team Canopus.
But even for Twin Turbo, a one-hour start training session shouldn't have knocked her out like this. An hour might seem long, but start training included breaks in between.
As Uma Musume, they could recover stamina fairly effectively during those intervals.
Barbatos herself felt tired mainly because of the constant drain from maintaining her [Zone], not just from the start training itself.
Minamizaka also came over to check on Twin Turbo, sensing something was off. If it were just training fatigue, Twin Turbo shouldn't be in this state.
"Blah blah blah… mumble mumble…"
Twin Turbo babbled incoherently, slowly pushing herself up from the grass.
"Whoa…"
"B-chan, I will absolutely never lose to you!"
"Huh?"
Faced with this sudden declaration, Barbatos was baffled. Why bring this up now? A bit of internal rivalry was normal—Team Canopus had held races among themselves before.
But this seemed out of the blue.
"B-chan! Even if you keep your [Zone] on the whole time, I can take it!"
"Come on! Let's keep going!"
"Um…"
What is going on? Barbatos remained confused, and even Minamizaka couldn't quite piece it together. Could Twin Turbo's brain have gotten scrambled from training?
"Is it possible that the oppressive aura of the [Zone] is affecting Twin Turbo?"
Seiun Sky mused thoughtfully.
Urara and Minamizaka, being farther away, were fine, but the closer one got to Barbatos, the more they felt the crushing pressure of her [Zone].
Not just Twin Turbo—even Seiun Sky, who had awakened her own [Zone], felt somewhat uncomfortable, though it was milder for her. For Twin Turbo, this was her first time facing a [Zone] head-on.
The aura of a [Zone] could sap the courage to run from ordinary G3 or even G2-level Uma Musume, slowing them down with its terrifying pressure.
One could push through it with strong willpower, but in races, [Zones] were usually unleashed during the final stretch.
Twin Turbo, however, had been training right beside an active [Zone] for a full hour.
"Oh…"
Hearing Seiun Sky's analysis, Barbatos suddenly understood, feeling a bit embarrassed. Her [Zone] had inadvertently screwed over Twin Turbo.
Especially since, while Seiun Sky might have higher resistance than Twin Turbo, she was definitely affected too.
Did this mean they couldn't train together anymore?
Maybe she could find a way to rein in the aura of her [Zone]? At least suppress it during training, then unleash it during races.
In competitions, the [Zone]'s aura was a debuff to weaken opponents. Right now, in training, it was just debuffing her teammates.
Barbatos didn't think suppressing the aura would be too difficult. If Silence Suzuka had the best start among active racers, then her own mastery over her [Zone] was also top-tier, even if it wasn't a true, complete [Zone].
She hadn't thought to suppress it before, but now she'd have to try.
"Sorry about that, I didn't realize," she apologized. "How about I treat you to something to eat later? Anything you want."
"Really?!"
Twin Turbo's eyes widened instantly, as if all debuffs had suddenly vanished.
Then she pouted and muttered, "I'm just a little hungry from training, that's all. I wanna eat. You can keep your [Zone] on all you want—I'm not losing to some dumb aura!"
"Yeah, yeah, of course not."
Barbatos agreed, deciding she'd train alone until she could suppress the aura.
She was confident she'd figure it out soon.
As for keeping the [Zone] on constantly… it drained stamina like crazy, kind of like a Super Saiyan. There was no way she could maintain it all the time…
"…"
At that thought, Barbatos froze.
Had she just made a weird connection? Super Saiyan?
What was she thinking? Why link Super Saiyans to her [Zone]?
Keeping it on constantly… Super Saiyan…
Super Saiyans could maintain their form, couldn't they? Like Goku and Gohan during the Cell Games. So if she suppressed her aura, could her [Zone]…
If possible, would that make her stronger?
Might be worth a shot.
Her [Zone] consumed a lot of stamina. If she suppressed the aura, would that increase or decrease the drain? Maintaining it constantly might make using her [Zone] feel more natural.
Maybe it could even help "White Lightning" awaken her own true [Zone] faster.
Even if it was just speculation, even if no Uma Musume in history had ever maintained a [Zone] continuously—at least it was a new idea, a new path. A possible way to get stronger.
"Thank you, Twin Turbo!"
"Huh? For what?"
Twin Turbo looked utterly bewildered.
Barbatos didn't explain, instead handing the tablet to Seiun Sky. "Hey, I need to run to the restroom."
Time to test if suppressing the aura was possible!
--+--
Restroom.
Inside a stall, the white lightning around her gradually dimmed. The overwhelming pressure and aura receded, contained, and the drain on her stamina slowed noticeably.
Barbatos looked at the faint lightning still flickering over her hands. "Seems pretty easy, actually."
Maintaining her now-suppressed [Zone], she left the stall, ready to resume training.
A short while later…
In the stall next to the one Barbatos had used, the sound of running water echoed.
An unknown Uma Musume sat on the toilet, utterly bewildered. What had just happened? That sudden, terrifying pressure earlier had scared her so much she couldn't even pee…
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.