"What a spectacular race! Even I, who have been commentating for so long, have never seen a GIII like this before. At the front, two Front Runners are running at a speed that is in no way inferior to the Uma Musume who is currently at the front!"
"Undoubtedly, the Uma Musume using Front Runner tactics in this race must be under immense pressure! And behind them, the competition between Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O is incredibly fierce. Will they be the only two shining new stars of this race?"
At this moment, not only the commentators, but even the Uma Musume fans in the stands who had watched races for an extra year or two, could already see that all the other Uma Musume in this race had been overshadowed. The true contenders in this GIII Mainichi Hai were only two Uma Musume: Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O.
Whether it was their physique, their tactics, or their competitive desire for victory, they surpassed all other Uma Musume in this GIII-level race—no, they were completely on a different level! Uma Musume of this caliber shouldn't be participating in GIII races; this was practically bullying!
"What kind of monsters are these two?!"
At this moment, the three Uma Musume employing Front Runner tactics running at the very front of the track were all extremely emotionally unstable. When they slightly turned their heads to look behind them, they could even vaguely see a strange, ghostly figure of a creature coalescing from the bodies of Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O.
They couldn't discern what the phantom was, but it seemed to be a manifestation of an Uma Musume's power. When this phantom slowly emerged, those Uma Musume who lacked talent and sufficient ability would simply become mere backdrops, with no possibility of competing!
And even though those phantoms weren't particularly clear, even somewhat blurry and indistinguishable, it already seemed like a huge chasm, completely dividing them into two realms of Uma Musume—under such a gap in power, they simply had no competitiveness!
"They're catching up!" The number nine Uma Musume, who was the weakest of the three, and at this moment, facing the steadily rising Aura of Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O from behind, her face turned pale with fright.
She only felt that what was catching up to her from behind were not Uma Musume like her, but two raging beasts, a flood of wild animals! Who in the world would dare to obstruct their path when they were emitting such an Aura?!
And under such pressure, she, an ordinary Uma Musume, finally fell to the pressure… "Dammit~!"
"Oh no! The number nine Uma Musume has lost speed! Did she not pace herself well enough and ran out of stamina?"
However, no sooner had the commentator's words fallen than it was as if the first domino had been pushed, signaling the number nine Uma Musume's loss of speed. Soon, the number six and number three Uma Musume using Front Runner tactics also succumbed to Doto and Opera's Aura.
"I can't do it anymore—!"
"Shit, shit shit shit...!"
"What a surprise! It seems like the pressure Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O was giving was too much for the three Front Runners, they have all started to fall back!" The commentator's voice was also very excited at this moment; a race of this level was truly rare in GIII-level races.
A GIII race is considered to be a trial due to it being above OP level races; its prestige, though not too high, is enough for many moderately talented Uma Musume to pursue for a lifetime—every single Uma Musume running in graded races has their own talent, so GIII races usually aren't a challenge. Even local Uma Musume who have to transition from dirt to turf can win in GIII races.
Therefore, on the GIII stage, which Uma Musume doesn't come with 100% effort and a determination to win? So, to be suppressed by just the Aura of other Uma Musume—this kind of thing is indeed uncommon.
"It seems that after this race, the dreams of the other Uma Musume will be shattered. They had placed high hopes on this GIII race, intending to show off their skills, but unexpectedly encountered two Uma Musume with the potential to win consecutive GIs."
In the stands, Ikezoe couldn't help but be somewhat dumbfounded watching this scene. Back in their world, there was no such thing as a Racehorse's Aura suppressing others—though there might be cases where Racehorses are intimidated before a race and perform poorly, such as the well-known incident with McQueen and Rice Shower.
However, in this world, Ikezoe could also see... the Uma Musume races in this world were far more outrageous than their Racehorse races; now they could even reveal their "true forms" like something out of a fantasy novel. (T/N: STANDO POWAHHH!)
Others couldn't tell, but Ikezoe and Wada, who had transmigrated, could see it. The phantoms behind Doto and T.M. Opera O, even if blurry, they recognized at a glance—they were the shadows of their original Racehorses!
"Wada, you must have seen it too, right?"
"Mm…" Wada also nodded very solemnly and said faintly, "I saw this scene during the mock race. At that time, Doto, McQueen, and Teio, all three of them released this Aura during their final spurt."
"I thought I was seeing things back then, but now it seems like Uma Musume truly have special powers..."
"Huh? What are you talking about? What power?"
However, Hana Toujou, who was beside them, looked bewildered. She once again cast her gaze towards the track, but she didn't see anything—everything was as usual.
So, not everyone could see it? Wada and Ikezoe also heard Hana Toujou's voice, and after a slight pause, they exchanged glances, but neither of them spoke up voluntarily.
At this moment, only the two of them didn't know that besides them, only Uma Musume could feel and see those Auras. Otherwise, they would definitely think that some strange change had occurred in their physical structure, and they had somehow become a male Uma Musume.
But at this moment, what Ikezoe didn't notice was that Curren Chan, who had been responsible for recording beside him, showed a surprised expression and looked at her Trainer after hearing their conversation.
Her Trainer… saw it? The Aura that only Uma Musume could sense between each other, and the power rumored to only be achievable by the most excellent Uma Musume?
However, amidst her surprise, Curren Chan's eyes quickly shifted from shock to immense joy—her Trainer, as expected, was no ordinary person.
"Onii-chan, just how many secrets do you have? Let Curren Chan explore them little by little~"
"I will ab~so~lutely not let you escape~" (T/N: Bro is just ashes at this point from how cooked he is.)
Curren Chan had a mysterious smile on her face as she continued to direct her gaze towards the track.
And at this moment, the race had already entered its final stage. No other Uma Musume could even intervene in the duel between Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O. At this moment, everyone's eyes on the entire track ignored the Uma Musume who were behind and focused entirely on the last two, the most outstanding Uma Musume in this race, who were still vying against each other on the track!
The champion would be born from one of these two Uma Musume; there would absolutely be no third possibility.
"STRONG! DOTO, YOU TRULY ARE STRONG! I NEVER IMAGINED YOU WOULD BE THIS POWERFUL!"
"As the Overlord, I am truly overjoyed! Overjoyed that I could find an opponent who could actually suppress me to this level!"
At this moment, at the very front of the group, Doto still maintained her one-length lead over T.M. Opera O. However, at the final corner, there were no longer any obstacles around; Doto couldn't possibly block such a large area by herself.
Therefore, at the next corner, T.M. Opera O had absolute confidence in breaking through Doto's blockade and then accelerate unimpeded on the final straightaway!
So what will you do next, Wada? Knowing who was behind Doto's tactics, T.M. Opera O was very curious what Wada came up with to counter her final spurt. She knew that Wada, who had specifically studied her, must be aware of the power of her final spurt.
However, T.M. Opera O quickly got her answer.
"The final corner!"
Doto's eyes narrowed slightly at the final corner, and she suddenly recalled the tactics Wada had arranged earlier. The next moment, she made a move that even T.M. Opera O hadn't anticipated.
Doto unleashed her final spurt before even reaching the corner, quickly opening up a significant distance from T.M. Opera O!
And at this moment, T.M. Opera O, who had originally planned to unleash her final spurt at the final straightaway, watched Doto suddenly pull several lengths ahead of her, and uncharacteristically fell into a brief moment of bewilderment.
Could it be… that the timing of her final spurt had been completely seen through?
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If you guys are curious about whether Cinderella Gray concepts will be in here, yes there will. So things like Zones and characters will be in this fic though way later since Cinderella Gray hadn't even been released yet when this fic was starting to get written.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.