Umamusume: Jujutsu Kaisen System! [2]

In the stands at Tokyo Racecourse, Twin Turbo hung effortlessly over the railing with both feet off the ground, watching the activity inside the starting gates.

“The challenge letter really worked!”

“The Satsuki Sho winner, Seiun Sky, noticed Fawn!”

“As expected of Turbo-senpai!”

Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi gazed at her in admiration.

Of course, Fawn and Seiun Sky were already classmates, were competing in the same race, and had been placed in adjacent gates. Seiun Sky would have noticed her with or without a challenge letter.

Still, somehow, her senpai seemed incredible.

Twin Turbo and Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi were both Umamusume from Team Canopus. The former had already retired, while the latter belonged to the same cohort as Kashimo but had yet to debut.

Both trained under Trainer Minamizaka.

Behind them, the middle-aged Trainer Minamizaka merely smiled without saying a word.

Team Canopus had long since lost its former glory. Its lack of a G1 champion hung over the team like a curse.

Few Umamusume were willing to join Team Canopus anymore.

The arrival of Kashimo and Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi had breathed new life into the team.

But as for the Japanese Derby unfolding before them…

As a professional Trainer, Minamizaka found it difficult to imagine Kashimo winning. The gap was simply too great.

Seiun Sky, Special Week, and King Halo had all displayed talent far beyond that of an ordinary Umamusume, along with the strength to match at this stage in their careers.

Whether he looked at Kashimo’s previous races or her usual training data, there was still a considerable gap between her and those three.

Top five.

That was the best result Minamizaka could foresee.

I just hope this race doesn’t discourage her.

…

“THE JAPANESE DERBY IS UNDERWAY!”

“THE GATES ARE OPEN! LET’S SEE HOW THEY GOT AWAY!”

The commentator’s voice rang out.

A roar of cheers filled the racecourse. Racing shoes pounded against the turf as the tightly packed field used every skill at their disposal to secure the positions best suited to them.

A blue-haired figure, her hair tied in a bun, darted through the pack. Kashimo’s start surpassed those of her peers, allowing her to claim her preferred position more quickly and cleanly.

This G1 felt completely different from the restricted graded races she had entered before.

And yet, whether in those earlier graded races or today’s Japanese Derby, the opponents she faced had barely changed.

They were still the same group of runners.

But now, Kashimo could clearly feel the competitors’ fighting spirits clashing within the pack.

This was the once-in-a-lifetime Japanese Derby, the greatest stage every young Umamusume dreamed of reaching!

In the Classic Triple Crown, the fastest runner won the Satsuki Sho, while the strongest won the Kikuka Sho.

That was what people said.

But the Japanese Derby was the race that truly symbolized the strongest of the younger generation. Its winner would be recognized across the country as the greatest of her generation!

Almost every competitor had entered the race convinced that she absolutely had to win the Derby.

Kashimo had already moved into third position near the front.

For this race, she intended to run as a Pace Chaser.

Pace Chaser and Late Surger were considered the most orthodox running styles. Unlike the more spectacular Front Runner and End Closer approaches, they offered the clearest view of the race as a whole and the flexibility to respond throughout.

Ahead of her, streaks of brown and blue intertwined as they fought for the lead.

Front-running meant setting a fast pace from the very beginning and staying ahead all the way to the finish. It placed heavy demands on both an Umamusume’s stamina and her tactical judgment.

When should she slow down to conserve strength? When should she speed up to dictate the pace for the runners behind her?

It all required an exceptional grasp of the race as a whole.

Kashimo doubted Seiun Sky would waste stamina fighting over position. If two Umamusume contested the lead, they would only exhaust themselves faster and ruin both their chances of winning.

When it came to that, Sky was far smarter than King!

Led by the two runners battling at the very front, Kashimo’s group passed the first corner and approached the second.

Just as I thought.

Seiun Sky surrendered control of the lead. She slowed down and settled behind King Halo, reducing the wind resistance she had to face.

“Tch. What a drag.”

This was where she should just unleash everything.

A wave of impatient negativity surged through Kashimo.

She should activate Mythical Beast Amber right now, stake everything she had left in this life on a binding vow, and win by a hundred lengths or so.

She would make certain this world never forgot her!

“No!”

Kashimo quickened her steps and forcefully cast the thought aside.

Even in Jujutsu Kaisen, opponents tested each other before using Domain Expansion. Hajime Kashimo had exchanged several blows with Sukuna before activating Mythical Beast Amber.

What she had just considered was no different from Satoru Gojo staking his entire fortune and life on a binding vow on the day of his promised battle, all in exchange for a teleporting Hollow Technique: Purple at ten thousand percent output.

Why had she even thought of that?

Kashimo had never noticed it before, much as people never kept track of how much bread they had eaten.

But once she turned her attention inward…

A power that did not belong in this world—one steeped in negative emotion—had undeniably appeared within her body.

This was…

Cursed Energy!

With [JUJUTSU SCHOLAR], Kashimo recognized it immediately.

Her cursed energy reserves were tiny—so small that she could not tell whether she or Maki possessed more.

Cursed energy did not exist in this world. No one else had it, and as a transmigrator, neither had she. In other words, everyone possessed cursed energy reserves equivalent to someone under Heavenly Restriction—Mechamaru notwithstanding.

In almost the same instant, Kashimo understood where the cursed energy had come from.

Her binding vow.

The fifteen-percent strength boost.

Because she had never specified exactly how that fifteen-percent increase would be applied, the binding vow had not enhanced her speed, stamina, or luck.

Instead, it had granted her a highly prized independent multiplier.

Question: What could she do with the tiniest trace of cursed energy?

Answer: Use cursed energy reinforcement to power her final spurt—especially when her cursed energy possessed the rare trait of electricity!

A final spurt, reinforced with cursed energy and further boosted by electricity stimulating her cells.

The only problem was the surge of negative emotion that came with temporarily possessing cursed energy. Almost everyone in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen had cursed energy, so handling it was practically muscle memory for them.

Kashimo would need time to adapt before she could keep its negative nature from influencing her emotions.

CLICK.

Kashimo’s ears twitched at the faint sound. Amid the overlapping noise of the commentator and the stands, it came through with startling clarity.

The wheel suspended above her head abruptly turned.

Had the [ADAPTIVE WHEEL] moved? Well… that would make sense. Probably.

A manic edge crept into Kashimo’s expression as she ran, though she suppressed the urge to burst into wild laughter.

She really did have too many tricks at her disposal!

But she couldn’t laugh. It would throw off her breathing!

“Spe-chan!”

“Hurry up and catch me!”

“Let’s see which of us has the stronger final spurt!”

T/N: I wonder should i keep using adaptive wheel?

This is a fan translation of 赛马娘，但系统是咒术回战 by 肥伦 Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!