In the cafeteria, Tokai Teio held a large bowl of rice, paired with a well-balanced nutritional set meal.
Walking over to sit opposite Nice Nature, Teio picked up her bowl and began devouring her food at high speed.
"Teio, aren't you afraid of getting fat eating that much?"
In response to Nature, Tokai Teio simply stuffed even larger mouthfuls of rice into her mouth.
"I guess it makes sense. Five consecutive wins... and the next race is the Derby. Well, none of that has anything to do with me anyway..."
Patting her own thigh, which was still wrapped in bandages, Nice Nature's eyes flickered with a mix of dejection and regret.
At that moment, Tokai Teio reached out with her chopsticks and snatched the hamburger steak right off her plate.
"Are you not eating this? Then I'll take it— I was just craving one!"
"Hey!"
From behind, Oguri Cap approached carrying two plates piled high with food like mountains.
After sitting down, she very quietly pressed her hands together in prayer before she, too, began devouring her food with lightning speed.
By comparison, it made every other Uma Musume in the cafeteria look like they were barely eating at all.
"Still, if it's Teio, she'll definitely be the most popular one on the Derby track..."
"Ohhh!!!"
Just then, a blue-haired Uma Musume with twin tails came running over.
She stood by the table with her hands on her hips, her unique blue-and-purple spiral eyes swirling.
She grinned with a mouth full of shark-like teeth, looking incredibly excited.
"Twin Turbo, what's gotten into you?"
"I'm just like you now! I've joined Team Canopus!"
"Is— Is that so?"
Tossing her little head back, Twin Turbo spoke with absolute confidence.
"From now on, it's the era of Canopus, especially since they've welcomed a super rookie like me."
Tokai Teio, who had been buried in her food, looked up just as the little blue-haired Uma Musume pointed a finger directly at her.
"Tokai Teio! I'm going to beat you at the Derby! I've been training for a super long time!"
Hearing this, Tokai Teio only gave a sheepish smile and said nothing.
Beside her, Nice Nature chimed in with an embarrassed reminder.
"You aren't even eligible for the Derby yet, Twin Turbo."
"Eh!!! Is that how it is? Then... Then I'll beat you at the Kikuka Sho!"
During their conversation, Oguri Cap at the back table brought over two more large plates of curry rice.
Her little belly was already slightly bulging, showing a bit of skin beneath her shirt.
In the afternoon...
Starlight was operating her wheelchair via remote, moving slowly along a side path.
Beside her, Tokai Teio, dressed in her tracksuit, followed along at a light jog with a large tire tied behind her.
"Teio's body flexibility is excellent, and her explosiveness is sufficient. She can handle extreme training without being easily injured or spraining something."
"However, don't overdo it with the extreme practice, it's easy to end up with a bone fracture like mine."
"Mhm! I understand, Starlight-senpai! Hehe, I'm so happy to be training with you again. It would be even better if I could run alongside you."
"Well... let's wait and see about that. I haven't given up on my recovery, I can already stand for ten minutes now."
"That's amazing! You'll definitely be able to run again, Starlight-senpai."
"Haha, I'll take that as a blessing~ But no matter how sweet your words are, you still have to finish this set."
"Mhm! Bring it on, Starlight-senpai!"
Ryo Nishizaki watched Teio training in the distance with a curl of a smile on his lips.
Turning around, he saw a dark-faced Mejiro McQueen and said helplessly:
"Why the long face again? Didn't I let you go eat sweets?"
"Um... why is it that Teio gets to train with Starlight-chan?"
"Teio has the Derby coming up. Starlight is just passing on some experience, it's not like they're doing anything else. Relax~"
"I'm about to participate in the Takarazuka Kinen too! Why can't Starlight-chan come and train with me?!"
"Once Teio finishes the Derby, I'll go ask Starlight for you, okay? Now hurry up, if we don't start now, we won't finish today's training plan."
Mejiro McQueen flicked her tail and spoke with total ease.
"I've already finished your plan, now I'm waiting for extra training. Trainer, you'd better have other tasks for me..."
"Ahaha, I have some, I have some! Here you go!"
Helpless, Ryo Nishizaki had no choice but to hand over the training load scheduled for next month to Mejiro McQueen.
Watching the Gray Uma Musume gallop across the turf once more, a smile couldn't help but appear on the trainer's mouth, which was currently occupied by a lollipop.
"Right now, Teio at short-to-middle distance and McQueen at long distance are both exceptionally outstanding athletes."
"Plus, there's Special Week, a graded stakes winner— maybe she really will be the one to snag the slot for the Arc this year?"
"And then there's Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet, who are also performing brilliantly in graded races. Looking at it this way, my Team Spica isn't necessarily weaker than Team Rigil at all..."
Tokyo Racecourse.
"Welcome to the world-renowned Twinkle Series! The Derby is as popular as ever. I am your play-by-play commentator, Akasaka, and joining me is Miss Hosoe."
"Pleasure to be here."
"The venue is packed to capacity, and we are broadcasting live to the entire world! And now for our inspection— finalizing the lineup at Gate 8 is the crowd favorite, Tokai Teio!"
The red screen pulled back, and Teio made her way to the center with a high-stepping side stride, flinging her cape out behind her.
The crowd below erupted in cheers, but some began to talk with worry.
"Gate 8... no one has ever won from there before."
"Eh! If that's true, then doesn't that mean today's Teio is..."
In the nearby spectator area, Maruzensky put her hands on her hips and spoke as she watched the lane Teio had been assigned.
"They'll enter the curve immediately after the gates open. For Gate 8, that's the outermost lane, so the terrain is very disadvantageous."
"Whether it's advantageous or not depends on Teio's own judgment, doesn't it?"
Symboli Rudolf spoke with her arms crossed over her chest.
As the girls headed to the gates to warm up, the race was about to begin.
Ryo Nishizaki, having watched Teio enter the field with the rest of Team Spica, moved to the very top of the stands.
Tojo Hana and the entirety of Team Rigil had also come to watch the battle.
Back on the track, accompanied by the opening of the gates, the Uma Musume surged forward.
Teio chose a front-running style and moved toward the outermost edge.
'Even if the terrain is disadvantageous, for a runner like me, it's actually a good thing. I can observe the opponents' movements more clearly.'
A faint golden light began to radiate around Teio's body.
Her form was incredibly light, and her footsteps accelerated forward like a dragonfly skimming the water.
After overtaking three runners, she successfully squeezed into the inner lane before the final curve.
The moment she entered the turn, she spotted an opening in the path ahead and immediately activated her Unique Skill combined with the Teio Step.
In the end, she took the Derby with absolute dominance.
The entire stadium boiled over instantly.
Last year, due to the Golden Generation, wins and losses were scattered, and no Uma Musume captured the Triple Crown. In the end, it only concluded with Divine Starlight taking the Triple Tiara.
This year, after seizing the Satsuki Sho, Tokai Teio followed up by winning the Derby with an absolute advantage.
It was highly likely she would become the next Undefeated Triple Crown winner.
Three days after the Winning Live.
After a period of rest, she changed back into her training clothes to prepare for the final leg, the Kikuka Sho.
However, training was not going smoothly.
After completing a set of sprints, she lost her footing and fell.
Just to be safe, Ryo Nishizaki took her to the hospital for an examination.
"I told you it's no big deal, Trainer. I probably just didn't stand firmly~"
"Mhm... looking at the X-rays, there is indeed a fracture."
"Eh?! Wh-What—?!"
"It's a fracture. I suggest you stay in the hospital for treatment. If things go well, you might recover by next January."