Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 396: Is it very likely that the trainer will be replaced?
After a moment of shock and hesitation, he suddenly looked at Yasui Makoto and, instead of answering, asked:

"Putting aside this training match, if we can't try it out this time, would you... consider a Takarazuka memorial?"

Yasui Makoto originally thought that understanding the training match schedule wouldn't be too difficult, since the more important significance of such matches was identifying and addressing weaknesses rather than winning or losing.

However, upon hearing the question, he realized that Da Shen might have some concerns. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "How could that be? That's the Takarazuka Memorial, it's G1. To make a completely uncertain attempt in such a competition is a bit too much."

The shock was sudden, but he quickly found it amusing and asked, "Testing at the Emperor's Spring Festival... Oh right, and you did something similar during your debut battle, Yasui, I don't think you have any right to say such things, do you?"

Once reminded, Yasui Makoto realized that he had said he wouldn't do anything he wasn't sure about, but he had actually already done it, which made him a little embarrassed.

However, he quickly composed himself and shook his head, explaining, "It's still different."

"Let's not talk about the debut battle. At that time, I was actually prepared to lose the debut battle. In my opinion, it's more important to establish the impression of the competition from the beginning than to win or lose a debut battle."

"Subsequent matches have proven this judgment to be correct. In most of the matches so far, Xiao Bei has not needed to catch up."

"Especially the Emperor's Spring Festival celebration, after being overtaken, he was able to come back. I think that's probably the first impression he left from his debut match."

The statement about the "great shock" is still acceptable. After all, it's not only Yasui Makoto who would use the first impression from the debut battle to lay the foundation for the competition, but such a situation is very rare.

“There are similar considerations in trying it out at the Emperor’s Spring Festival,” Yasui Makoto continued. “Kohoku will only face more and more challenges in the future, and mastering more skills will definitely be more beneficial to the competition.”

"If we don't try it in long-distance races where we excel, we can't very well try it in events like the Takarazuka Memorial where we have weaknesses, can we?"

Now, Dae-shockingly agreed with Yasui's decision to some extent.

To become a top-tier racehorse girl, perhaps with a certain amount of talent, consistent hard work is enough; there are many such racehorse girls in the Shining Series.

However, to become the best of the best, the very pinnacle, sometimes you do have to take risks.

Just like herself.

Today, she boasts fame as an undefeated triple crown racehorse girl and a seven-time G1 champion, making her one of the most dazzling racehorse girls. However, fewer and fewer people notice that her career has been marked by setbacks and hardships since her debut.

Before her debut, she would often get injured and bleed due to her thin feet, especially when she underwent excessive training.

After her debut, she also had the problem of leaking the ball, a problem that accompanied her almost throughout her entire competition career.

To solve these problems, she took risks, and sometimes even required trainers to do so.

For example, in the Young Horse Championship, he boldly adopted the chasing method, while in the Yayoi Sho race, he ran almost without any race instructions, relying on instinct. These were quite risky moves, and while winning the race, they had a significant impact on his subsequent career races.

Recalling his own experience and pondering Yasui's response, he was deeply shocked and finally nodded, saying:
“Okay, I understand. The training match schedule... I can show it to you privately, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else, and don’t tell Xiao Bei either.”

Upon hearing this, Yasui Masashi was overjoyed for a moment, but then quickly understood the reason for his hesitation before his great shock, and couldn't help but hesitate as well, saying, "This... isn't this against the rules? If that's the case..."

Before Yasui could finish speaking, Da Zhen shook his head and said:

"Isn't it a bit too late to say such things at this time?"
"And even if you guarantee it, given your past record of attending the Emperor's Spring Festival celebrations, I'd rather you try it out in the training match." "Past record...?"

Yasui Makoto sighed, "Even if I took some risks, this... doesn't really count as a criminal record, does it?"

"That's not how it works, actually..."

After a moment of deep thought, Da Zhenzhen suddenly looked serious and said, "Your previous decision was actually quite risky, do you understand?"

Seeing that Yasui looked somewhat bewildered, she became even more serious and said, "It seems you really didn't realize this, but it just so happens that President Emperor said to ask me to find an opportunity to remind you during this special training period."

"Yasui, your and Xiaobei's achievements are getting better and better, and you are becoming more and more famous. This is very gratifying, but it will also make the association and the board of directors pay more attention to you."

"This kind of attention is certainly a good thing, but the problem is that your risky actions during the Emperor's spring outing will also be taken seriously. Can you understand that?"

At first, Yasui Makoto didn't understand what the Great Shock was trying to say, but after hearing the second half, he immediately understood what was going on.

"So, if Xiao Bei gets stronger and stronger," he pondered, "and I made a decision that could potentially lead to a loss, I could very well be replaced?"

She was greatly shocked and astonished, because what Yasui Makoto said was exactly what she and the Emperor of the East Sea were worried about and intended to hide.

As student council members, they understand better than the horse girls who focus on training and competition, and even some of the trainers, that the Shining Series is actually quite brutal in many ways.

For associations, councils, and other organizations, as well as the foundations that fund the project, a victory for Uma Musume is more important than anything else; if that cannot be achieved, everything else can be compromised.

This includes clauses in the agreements signed between trainers and racehorses.

For example, if a trainer's decision may affect the competition results, the association and other relevant parties will suggest replacing the trainer or even take intervention measures depending on the situation.

The reason why they were worried and wanted to hide it was that telling Yasui Makoto and Kita Genkoto would only add unnecessary pressure and interfere with their training.

But it's hard to say how the Northern Genko will react to this, as Yasui Makoto seems to have anticipated it all along.

Yasui Makoto didn't exactly anticipate it; rather, he was already very clear about the laws governing society, so he was able to understand and accept these things immediately.

However, he hadn't thought of these things before the great shock was mentioned, and now that he realized it, he couldn't help but sigh helplessly:

"Okay, thank goodness you reminded me, President, otherwise I really wouldn't have thought of these things. I'll pay attention to this in the future."

"Your reaction is really lukewarm..."

He said with a mix of helplessness and surprise, but then, after a moment of shock, he felt relieved and said, "However, it seems that you are much more accepting of these things than I imagined. It looks like I can communicate with you directly from now on."

"Of course, before that, you need to focus on Xiao Bei's training and matches, and prepare for the upcoming training matches."

(End of this chapter)