Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 446 Hesitation leads to defeat
With unwavering eyes fixed on the Northern Black Steed, he determined the most likely escape route based on every change in the steed's gaze and body language.

Based on these instantaneous judgments, they then flexibly adjusted their rhythm and route.

This was his planned tactical approach, and it's also the most basic idea behind this kind of chase race.

Faced with this approach, and being completely unfamiliar with it, the opponent only needs to make one or two mistakes to declare victory.

In the first few seconds, he keenly noticed that the Northern Black Horse hesitated at least twice.

He didn't care what the hesitation was; he just tried even harder to catch up.

Then, two seconds later, it successfully made a diving tackle and touched the hem of the tracksuit of the Northern Black Horse.

Falling is a common occurrence in chasing races and extreme sports, and the same applies to techniques for avoiding falls and injuries.

So, he skillfully used the momentum to flip and dissipate the force on the ground, stood up, patted his clothes, and with a satisfied smile, met the worried-looking Genkonojo.

"Trainer, are you alright?" Northern Black Steed asked first, looking him up and down.

"It's a small problem, don't worry, I'm used to it."

After a simple word of comfort, Yasui Makoto gradually became serious:
"Compared to my situation, I'd like to ask, were you a little hesitant just now?"

"Huh? Did the trainer notice?"

Northern Black Steed paused, then nodded in surprise, saying, "Indeed... but it's not that I'm hesitating, I'm just wondering what tactics you would use, and then..."

She pursed her lips, her gaze thoughtful.

"If I'm not mistaken, the trainer... must have anticipated my thoughts?"

Nodding with satisfaction, Yasui Makoto's expression grew even more serious. He turned back to look at the "scaffolding" and began a brief debriefing:
"You guessed right. Because there is only one opponent, you can predict a lot of things in advance, and even plan how to mislead your opponent."

"Leaving aside misleading techniques for now, let's talk about prediction first."

"For example, the eyes."

Seeing Yasui Makoto point to his eyes as he spoke, Kita Genkoto subconsciously touched his eyes: "Eyes...?"

At this moment, Xingmu and Wang Ziding, who had been watching intently, ran over.

Both female horse racers wore expressions of amazement, and upon hearing the conversation between the two, they unconsciously wiped their eyes and exchanged glances.

“Generally speaking, in competitive sports, the eyes can convey a lot of information.”

Makoto Yasui explained, "For example, if I judge that you want to run to the corner at the beginning, it's because your eyes are glancing in that direction."

"Similarly, if you want to turn around and run back, you first look behind you, and because of the turning motion, it's easier to make a judgment."

"So this is ah……"

Still touching his eyes, Beifang Xuanju pondered for a moment: "So, in my match... I can also use this?"

"You're right."

Yasui Makoto once again said with satisfaction:

"There are many opponents in the Shining Series, but with your current strength, you will encounter many familiar opponents in the future, and we have been preparing specifically for them."

"So you are quite familiar with the situation of many opponents, and that's how you make this kind of judgment."

"In fact, you could do that in the past, for example, by judging by footsteps, breathing sounds, or peripheral vision."

"And this kind of training will take your abilities in this area to the next level." He paused, then changed the subject:
"And then there's your hesitation."

"Race walking events last much longer than these chase races, but hesitation can still affect the outcome."

"Especially in increasingly intense competitions, a moment's hesitation could mean missing a golden opportunity."

Seeing this, Northern Black Horse couldn't help but bite his lip in annoyance:
"I understand, I'll be more careful next time."

Moving closer, Yasui patted her shoulder and comforted her:

"You do need to be careful, but there's no need to be so discouraged."

"As I said, you weren't unaware of these things before, but we now have a new training method that can further enhance your abilities."

"Moreover, we have only just begun this kind of training, and there will be many more competitions in the future, so we have plenty of time to practice and improve."

The Northern Black Steed was not discouraged, but merely felt guilty for its poor performance.

Hearing these words of comfort, she immediately regained her energy.

"Yeah! I know!"

She nodded vigorously, clenched her fist, took a deep breath, and then raised it high:
"Alright, now that we're fully warmed up, let's begin the formal training, trainer!"

On that day and in the days that followed, training proceeded as usual, while pursuit training was gradually incorporated.

Yasui Makoto's self-training and improvement continues.

As time went on and he practiced his skills one by one, he became more and more adept at chasing and training, and he also discovered more aspects that could be combined with the Shining Series.

As the training progressed, the Northern Black Horse gradually passed the familiarization stage and began to show increasingly obvious progress.

Although during training, whether it was running away or chasing, she still couldn't beat Yasui Makoto.

But in Yasui Makoto's eyes, that was enough.

The purpose of this training is not to participate in these kinds of competitions.

Rather, Northern Genko was originally one of the best female racehorses in active service, with no issues regarding her physical condition or racing ability.

It's extremely difficult to improve to this level. It's only because I happen to be good at extreme sports and happened to think of this type of training method that I had this opportunity.

Through rigorous training, even without looking at the data, Makoto Yasui could intuitively sense that Genko Kita's reaction speed in subtle matters was becoming faster and faster, and its choice of short-distance routes was becoming more reasonable.

With this progress, whether it's the subsequent Takarazuka Memorial or other future events, the available tactical skills will only increase and become more advantageous for victory.

As the days passed and the Takarazuka Memorial Day drew ever closer, the entire academy was enveloped in a tense yet exciting atmosphere.

The results of the vote to leave have finally been finalized, and almost all the racehorse girls on the list have come to Takarazuka City for their final pre-race training.

On campus, racehorse girls and trainers can be seen everywhere, either training hard on the track, studying tactics in the office, or adjusting their condition in the dormitory.

Meanwhile, under Yasui Makoto's guidance, whether it was Kita Genko, who was about to leave the competition, or Akimo, who was still preparing for her debut, or Wang Ziding, who occasionally came to train with them, they were all carrying out various practices in an orderly manner.

Even during his spare time from training, Yasui Makoto did not forget about the legendary racehorse girls.

However, since he had already decided to ask the Emperor of the East Sea for help, and the Northern Black Steed was currently in good training condition, he did not specifically mention it.

Perhaps it was because of the intense training that he felt like a competitive athlete, and he couldn't help but ask a "senior" like the East Sea Emperor for advice on his future.

(End of this chapter)