After bringing back Obey Your Master,
Kuroha arranged for her to stay in a small villa generously provided by the Mejiro family.
It would serve as her temporary residence until the Japan Cup concluded.
The next day.
Kuroha brought her to a brand-new private training ground.
Hmm…
This was one of the resources Madam Mejiro had offered him a few days earlier—
a state-of-the-art training facility.
From now on, Kuroha no longer had to burn through funds to rent training grounds as before.
At this time, Inari One and Fujimasa March were attending their classes.
Inside the training grounds—
Kuroha stood at the edge of the track, his gaze sharp as he watched the gallant golden-haired figure sprint past.
When the girl dashed by, he tilted his head up to glance at the precision automatic timer.
"Trainer, how was it?"
Obey Your Master panted lightly as she walked over.
For some reason, during her time training on the West Coast, she had never cared much about the evaluations of other trainers or Uma Musume.
But now, when asking Kuroha about her performance, her voice carried a faint pressure of expectation.
"Your performance…"
Kuroha thought for a moment before replying, "Not bad."
It was a fair and measured assessment.
"First, let's talk about the fundamentals."
During the period before Obey Your Master returned to the US, Kuroha had personally coached her for about a month on improving her running form and breathing rhythm.
Now, watching her again, there was no doubt she had mastered it well.
Her movements flowed smoothly, her breathing stable—
it was clear she had ingrained his coaching deeply into her mind.
However, with Body and Breath Perception,
Kuroha keenly caught the tiny flaws that weren't visible to the naked eye.
They came from a lack of his personal guidance for too long.
Self-adjustments made during races and training had caused subtle deviations to accumulate.
"Your center of gravity isn't sinking quite enough, so your power transfer during bursts isn't fully linear."
"And your breathing—though steady in rhythm— falters slightly at the tail end of your final sprint."
As he spoke, Kuroha stepped forward and gently adjusted her arm swing and running posture.
The girl's body was soft yet resilient, and each minor correction brought a tangible boost in efficiency.
Obey Your Master let him make adjustments freely,
and a long-absent sense of satisfaction welled up inside her.
"So this is how it used to be…"
After Kuroha corrected her flaws,
the golden-haired Uma Musume took a short rest before sprinting again under his direction.
As her figure flew down the track,
Kuroha sat down and opened her status panel.
[Registered Uma Musume: Obey Your Master (Temporary)]
[Obey Your Master]
Track Aptitude: Turf A / Dirt D
Distance Aptitude: Short C / Mile A / Medium A / Long B
Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner C / Pace Chaser B / Late Surger A / End Closer A
Unique Skill: Pour All My Glory Lv.3
Domain: Wild Joker
Skills: Turf God, Clairvoyance, Supreme Step, All In, Medium Distance Straights, Iron Will
Speed: 1121
Stamina: 976
Power: 944
Guts: 1013
Wisdom: 1104
"Compared to when we last parted, the changes in her stats aren't too drastic,"
Kuroha murmured.
From April to late November,
more than half a year had passed—
yet each stat had only grown by less than fifty points.
It was proof that Obey Your Master was approaching her growth ceiling.
Her True Blooming was almost complete.
Regular strength training no longer had much effect.
And aside from her stats, one key entry in her panel had changed:
[Domain: Wild Joker]
Half a year ago, it had still displayed "Awakening."
Now, it was fully unlocked.
With her current panel in mind,
Kuroha began forming a plan for her training.
First—perfect her running form and breathing again.
Second—integrate Medium Distance Aptitude training into her routine.
Obey Your Master already excelled at high-speed turf running.
If she could gain greater adaptability at 2400 meters,
she would unleash unimaginable strength.
Lastly—her Domain!
Obey Your Master's Domain was still incomplete.
She couldn't activate it at will—
it only appeared in rare moments of extreme focus or stimulation.
From what Kuroha understood, the conditions to trigger her Domain required:
High-speed turf.
Fighting spirit pushed to the limit.
Complete dominance over the intel of every competitor.
That third requirement—controlling all information on opposing Uma Musume—
included, but was not limited to, their trainers, their past races, their opponents, and more…
Such harsh conditions for an incomplete Domain would be a fatal disadvantage
when facing Tamamo Cross's complete Domain in the Japan Cup.
Even though history said Obey Your Master would defeat Tamamo Cross,
Kuroha wasn't going to gamble with his Uma Musume's future.
Thus, for this Japan Cup—
mastering her Domain would be the top priority of her special training.
As for scattered general skills like Professor of Curvature,
Kuroha decided to set those aside for now.
With only one month left until the Japan Cup,
he couldn't dump everything on her all at once—
that would only backfire.
Opening his notebook,
Kuroha's pen carved clear words across the page.
"Alright, this will be the plan."
After careful thought,
he selected the most critical, immediately effective training items.
Limited time would be poured only into the core areas that could boost her battle strength.
Over the following days,
as Obey Your Master's special training moved onto the right track,
Kuroha used his spare time to personally visit the Uma Musume who would soon join his team,
along with their trainers and families.
For example, Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen.
He even went to meet their families.
After all, they were still young, not yet in True Blooming.
If he were to bring them into his team,
he needed their families' consent.
Fortunately, the meetings went well.
Their families were very satisfied after learning of Kuroha's achievements as a trainer.
The most time-consuming case was Sakura Chiyono O's trainer—
the career woman he had briefly met after the Japan Derby.
When she heard that Chiyono O wanted to transfer teams,
she almost broke down crying on the spot.
A huge contrast from her usual composed image.
In the end, between sobs,
she still entrusted Chiyono O to Kuroha,
asking him to take good care of her.
Although, through Body and Breath Perception,
Kuroha could tell most of her tears were for show,
he chose not to expose her.
And so, with the addition of Mejiro Ardan,
the transfers of four Uma Musume were completed.
After the Japan Cup,
Obey Your Master would also join.
Kuroha's envisioned team was finally taking shape.
From here on,
all that mattered was focusing everything to ensure Obey Your Master
could meet the Japan Cup in peak condition.
As for the move from Oi to Central Tracen,
he would follow his original plan—
step by step, beginning with the Tokyo Memorial.
(End of Chapter)
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