After finishing, McQueen instinctively glanced back at Opera O and Doto-san, who were close behind, followed by Gold Ship and Curren Chan.
As for Gold Ship, she did not participate in this concurrent training, instead acting as the finish line official.
"You didn't unleash your Last Spurt, Opera O, and Doto-san. Are you going easy on me?"
"Hahahaha, this is a requirement from our Trainer, Doto-san's and mine. He wants us to use our Last Spurt as little as possible during training to avoid injuries," Opera O replied with an exaggerated gesture. "As long as our stamina and strength increase, the Last Spurt will naturally improve. Our Trainer wants us to avoid injuries during training as much as possible."
"On the contrary, McQueen, you should be careful. Your burst just now was indeed good, but don't overdo it!"
"—There's no need to worry about that. My Trainer has already made plans for me. I take time every day to get my legs checked."
McQueen had been part of Imanami's team for some time now, and she continued to have unwavering trust in Imanami's training regimen.
If there was one major change Imanami brought to McQueen, it was making her pay unprecedented attention to the health of her legs.
Because McQueen had already understood her mission from her Grandmother: not just to win the Tenno Sho and fulfill the Mejiro Family's mission, but more importantly, to retire healthily many years later, and with her uninjured legs, improve the Mejiro bloodline to cultivate even better descendants.
Since that day, McQueen had been extremely focused on the safety of her legs, because she knew she had been given a new mission, and Imanami was her Trainer, her supervisor, and her planner—the key person for her to continue the family's future.
As for who would join her in continuing the Mejiro Family's bloodline in the future... to be honest, McQueen herself wasn't entirely sure, but she felt that if she were to truly fall for someone, she would definitely be attracted by their qualities and excellence.
The person Mejiro McQueen liked would absolutely not be an ordinary person.
Although she didn't have any thoughts of dating right now, that was beside the point.
Everything would first be aimed at winning the Tenno Sho; as for what came after... she would deal with that when she reached that age.
"Oh, McQueen, that was a great run just now! Another new record!" Gold Ship, who was holding a stopwatch and not participating in the training, also stepped forward and said, then her gaze turned to Gold Ship.
"Hehe, Big Sister Orfevre, you didn't even catch up. That's quite unexpected. You were so brave during your Debut Race, why are you so sluggish now?"
"Wh—Gold Ship!"
However, the panting Gold Ship was instantly enraged by Gold Ship's provocative words, but after her anger, she looked up and saw Gold Ship's 170-centimeter tall figure, and she immediately deflated, completely losing her temper.
Wuwuwuwu... You rotten Oldest Sister! Why did you let Gold Ship temporarily be the head of the family when you left... This guy doesn't have any sense of being a family head at all... "Indeed... I feel there's a big difference between Gold Ship during her Debut Race and Gold Ship during training now."
Gold Ship's words, instead, piqued the curiosity of the Uma Musume, and McQueen also subconsciously nodded and asked, "Gold Ship, can you try to ignite that 'Presence' you had during your Debut Race again?"
"I, I want to, but I don't know why, no matter how much I imagine the finish line as Ikezoe, I find I can't do it anymore... It's like it's suddenly closed off..."
Gold Ship was also very aggrieved.
As far as her eyes could see, whether it was McQueen or Gold Ship, or even the timid Meisho Doto, they all appeared to her as formidable and unapproachable Presences.
The only one whose physique was somewhat similar to hers was Opera O, and even Curren Chan behind her, Gold Ship subconsciously felt she couldn't provoke.
Running with such a group of bigshots, her pressure was immense, yet usually, pressure comes with motivation, but now Gold Ship felt that no matter what, she couldn't ignite her race-day form, only barely able to keep up.
Now, setting aside Curren Chan, who only had short-distance talent, it could be said that among the entire team during training, she was the one performing the most poorly...
"Indeed, during races, Gold Ship had quite the 'Golden Tyrant' demeanor."
"Please don't use that term! What 'Tyrant'! I'm just an ordinary Uma Musume!"
At this moment, Opera O also recalled the newspaper from a few days ago; Gold Ship's victory in her Debut Race, coupled with her fierce expression, had earned her the title of "Golden Tyrant," making Gold Ship tremble for an entire day.
She was afraid others would mistake her for the kind of Uma Musume who would mock other Uma Musume after a race; the title "Tyrant" was truly unpleasant, and she certainly didn't want to be regarded as a major enemy by other Uma Musume and be targeted.
"Hahahaha! Isn't this great?" However, Opera O seemed very excited, encouraging Gold Ship, "There's no need to hide your talent and personality, unleash it all! I am the 'Overlord,' and you are the 'Tyrant.' Strictly speaking, we are the same kind of person!"
"Absolutely not!" Gold Ship immediately retorted.
"Um... I also think that Gold Ship on the race track is indeed a bit different..." At this moment, Doto also cautiously raised her hand and said with concern, "Gold Ship on the race track is very strong... Although she doesn't have much technique, she can control the rhythm of the entire race just by her own judgment, and the explosive power of her Last Spurt, I even feel it has surpassed mine."
"The most important thing is that Presence... My Trainer said that Opera O and I both have this ability, but, but I feel that the gap between my Presence and Gold Ship's... is still very large."
Although Doto's Presence on the race track seemed to have caught Opera O off guard, in reality, after repeated training tests, Wada had already confirmed that Meisho Doto's Presence was, in a sense, "specialized against Opera O."
Normally, Doto would hardly unleash such fierce Presence, but once Opera O's Presence approached, Doto would be stimulated to unleash her own Presence for counter-suppression.
This characteristic surprised both Doto and Opera O, and only Wada, who knew the truth, understood why.
Perhaps it was because she was so severely suppressed by Opera O during her time as a Racehorse... so in this world, this resentment was inherited, and she specifically developed this "Presence" that counters Opera O... It's clear how significant the influence of this past life's karmic bond truly is.
"Then, is Gold Ship's potential also like Doto's, needing stimulation to be unleashed?"
"But the pressure of us running together should be greater than during her Debut Race, right? If even this can't unleash Gold Ship's potential... then it shouldn't be a pressure issue?"
For a moment, the Uma Musume also started to guess, after all, Gold Ship in this state was truly too worrying; her performance was unstable, and she wouldn't miss her races either.
Among the group of Uma Musume, only Curren Chan, upon hearing this news, did not show any anxious expression, nor did she gloat, but rather showed a slight incomprehension.
How could Gold Ship, whom Oni-chan valued so much, only have this much ability? Was she hiding her true strength? Was it because she felt she should keep a low profile in this team?
...No, she doesn't seem like the scheming type at all, but not being able to control her own performance... Could such a thing really happen to an Uma Musume? Performing well in races but almost failing in training?
What exactly did Oni-chan value in her... I completely can't understand.
However, at this moment, Curren Chan did not voice these questions.
She didn't want to discourage Gold Ship; after all, she and Gold Ship had no conflict.
She was merely curious about another Uma Musume whom Ikezoe valued so much, as someone who lovingly regarded her Trainer as her "fated one."
And now, everything was still early; there was still a year of preparation.
Curren Chan naturally trusted Oni-chan's judgment, but while she trusted Ikezoe, she didn't trust Gold Ship...
If Gold Ship's performance truly wasn't satisfactory... then... even if Curren Chan felt it was wrong, there were some things she would still do.
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