The fact that Deep Impact completely lacked Aura was something that extremely few people knew about.
Even with the talent to become an Undefeated Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume, as well as the immense resources from Shadai, Deep Impact couldn't unleash her Aura no matter how she tried or how hard she pushed herself.
Yet, uniquely, although she did not possess the more common Aura, her Zone was absolutely monstrous.
With it, Shadai's description of her as the 'crystallization of the essence of the Japanese Uma Musume scene' was not unfounded at all.
Although almost every single Hall of Fame level Uma Musume had their own Zone, Deep Impact's Zone was particularly distinct; it could even be considered an anomaly among Zones.
If Symboli Rudolf were to go head on against this Zone, even she would be rendered helpless against Deep Impact.
Now, hearing this, one might wonder: just what ability does her Zone possess?
Well, it's a rather simple ability that can be succinctly described in a single word: Nullification.
When Deep Impact releases her Zone, every other Uma Musume's Zone gets rendered null and void.
This might not sound too impressive at first; after all, it just meant that everyone was on a more even playing field, including Deep Impact herself since her Zone's only ability was nullification, which can't exactly help her run better.
However, one must not forget that Zone, at its very core, is a state of extreme concentration, sharpening your senses and allowing your body to exert more strength.
Meaning, while everyone else was forced out of their Zones, causing them to waste a large portion of their stamina and focus, she alone could enjoy the benefits of Zone.
To put it in terms of gaming terminology, Deep Impact's Zone allows her to cancel everyone else from using overpowered buffs even after they spent the resources to cast them, while she herself can freely abuse them however sees saw fit.
It was thanks to this Zone that Deep Impact managed to consistently achieve victory after victory against Uma Musume who possessed both Aura and Zone.
If one were to grossly oversimplify things, Symboli Rudolf and Deep Impact could actually be considered the same type of Uma Musume.
Both of them rely on their powerful Zones to dominate race after race; it was just that Symboli Rudolf inflicted insane debuffs on her enemies while Deep Impact stops everyone else but herself from activating buffs.
However, the reason why this was considered to be grossly oversimplifying things was because unlike Deep Impact, Symboli Rudolf could use Aura.
While Zone can be considered an ultimate move, Aura was more of a passive ability, capable of being realistically used throughout the entire race if one was prudent with their stamina.
A good example of this was in the Arima Kinen, where both T.M. Opera O and Symboli Rudolf had their Auras up from start to finish.
Unfortunately for Deep Impact, she was incapable of such a thing.
Why? Well, because, as stated before, she literally cannot use Aura no matter what she did.
Though more common, awakening Aura, like awakening one's Zone, required an opportune moment.
Although one might think that awakening Aura was much easier than awakening a Zone due to there being more Aura wielders, this was an incredibly misguided thought process.
Through extensive research, awakening a Zone seemed to require three things: first was, of course, the right moment, the second was 'talent,' and finally, an unstoppable determination.
On the other hand, other than the 'right moment,' the requirements to awaken Aura were completely unknown to anyone.
It was an incredibly fickle ability; sometimes, the most rookie of Uma Musume could quickly master it, while some of the most powerful Uma Musume might never even touch upon it even after a lifetime of effort.
...If you were wondering if the latter half of the sentence was referring to Deep Impact, yes it was.
Therefore, after gathering up her bearings, she patiently waited here, hoping that Takatoshi Imanami, seemingly the leader of the group, could guide her in the way of Aura.
"I must say, Miss Deep Impact, your thirst for knowledge is truly admirable for you to directly come to ask for guidance so bluntly."
"Hehe, there's no reason for me to not do so, no? If I don't understand something, I'll just ask; why would I care about who they are if they're qualified enough to tell me?"
Deep Impact unabashedly showed her thick skin, showing a smile while she waited for Imanami's answer.
Unfortunately for her, Imanami unhesitatingly looked at Deep Impact and said the words she didn't want to hear,
"Then you'll find yourself deeply disappointed, Miss Deep Impact."
"It's not that I'm actively trying to hold back information from you, but rather, I don't even have a so-called 'special method' to unleash an Uma Musume's Aura."
"I know the fact that all the children in our team having this ability seems suspicious, but it's really all just a coincidence; we don't know anything about how to unlock this ability."
"Hueh~?! No way..."
Finding that her trip was in vain, Deep Impact's ears drooped as she sighed in disappointment.
Still, unwilling to return with nothing, Deep Impact bargained once more,
"...You can at least tell me how your team usually trains, right? I think it could be very valuable as a point of reference."
"—It seems I will have to disappoint you again, Miss Deep Impact, but our training methods aren't particularly special either; any Trainer from Tracen can attest to that."
Seeing dark clouds starting to form above Deep Impact's slumped body, Imanami shook his head as he curiously asked back,
"Miss Deep Impact, you are a pretty high ranking member at Shadai, yes? Don't they have experts specifically researching topics like these? Why don't you go there and ask first?"
"Bah! I already asked, they got nothing!"
"Sigh... why do I even try? It's all useless anyways..."
Realizing that a new promising lead to unlocking Aura led to a dead end again, Deep Impact became particularly disheartened.
After all, she had been on this wild goose chase for years by now, and yet she had failed to make any meaningful progress so far.
Ever since the events of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, she had gained a minor obsession with growing stronger through orthodox methods, with it naturally leading her to Aura.
Though most of her leads were defunct, she seemed to have found an incredibly promising lead after she started paying attention to the new Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume.
That Uma Musume was, of course, T.M. Opera O.
When T.M. Opera O clashed and managed to win against Symboli Rudolf, Deep Impact had already begun to focus her attention towards the team behind her.
This 'Team Miracle' had only been established for a year, and yet not only had they succeeded in winning more than one GI, but they had also succeeded in winning the Classic Triple Crowns!
That was not all; every single one of their active Uma Musume was also at least middle to high GI level, with there even being an Uma Musume who had the potential to challenge the Classic Triple Crowns too!
For a team that had no prior background or significant backing, their achievements could only be described as a 'miracle.'
It was to scout this team that Deep Impact concealed her identity to race against Meisho Doto as well as to watch Orfevre's mock race with Maruzensky.
And from the fact she was here today, it was obvious that both results satisfied Deep Impact.
Although Meisho Doto was not her opponent, her fervor and Aura pressed Deep Impact quite a bit.
As for Orfevre... though she was not as strong as Meisho Doto yet, the potential she showed so far could already make Deep Impact feel threatened, even making her designate Orfevre as a likely formidable foe in the future.
Even Gold Ship, who Deep Impact had come to watch simply to confirm her suspicions, had her genuinely shaken with her performance at the end.
Thus, due to Imanami being Gold Ship's Trainer, alongside her prior research revealing him as the leader of Team Miracle as was said earlier, Deep Impact directly came to ask him about her problem.
Imanami was the leader and the Trainer of that Gold Ship, so he must know the secrets behind Aura, right?
Seemingly having decoded Deep Impact's thought process, Imanami chuckled a little as he spoke with a hint of amusement,
"Why does Miss Deep Impact think I would be the one who knows such things? I'm just an ordinary Trainer; if even Shadai's team of experts can't figure it out, I surely wouldn't know, right?"
"Moh~! Then how does your entire team have Aura with ridiculously high compatibility rates?! Especially that Gold Ship!"
The next moment, Deep Impact revealed something that shocked even Imanami to his very core.
"Although she only released it for a short while during the final straight, I'm sure the compatibility level of her Aura was higher than Meisho Doto's!"
"—Actually, scratch that, even your team's T.M. Opera O might not be as high as Gold Ship's! I refuse to believe that you didn't have any hand in her near 100% compatibility level!"
"...100% Compatibility?"
Imanami was rendered stunned by Deep Impact's words, showing a rare expression of bewilderment.
In the Arima Kinen, T.M. Opera O, with the combined effort of Wada, managed to reach a new level of mastery with her Aura; one could even say that she had reached the peak in terms of Aura.
So... why did Deep Impact say Gold Ship's Aura compatibility level was superior to T.M. Opera O's?!
'When?! How?! Is she just naturally this talented? Or did she secretly train it without anyone noticing? If so, when? Before the Flower Cup? Last month?'
'Maybe even...'
In an instant, many conjectures surfaced in Imanami's mind, his brain working the hardest it had been since McQueen's participation in the Classic Triple Crowns last year.
However, just then, accompanied by an exclamation, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from not far away,
"Old Man! Old Man! You done?!"
"...It seems I must take my leave now; I hope you can give me a definite answer next time."
Hearing Gold Ship's voice, Deep Impact decided to leave things be for now; the fewer people that knew she was here, the better.
And from Imanami's expression, it was obvious that despite being her Trainer, he currently still had a limited understanding of Gold Ship, so pushing now would not yield any results.
With that, she quickly departed, and soon enough, Gold Ship reached Imanami, embracing Imanami as she spoke in a spoiled tone,
"Old man, who were you talking to just now? They didn't sound like my Oldest Sister?"
"...Just a passing Uma Musume who asked for some advice."
As Imanami replied, he also subtly scrutinized Gold Ship with a new pair of eyes.
But despite knowing that something was going on with Gold Ship, he couldn't find a single flaw or clue at all.
Imanami felt as if he had returned to the past; no matter whether Gold Ship had a human face or a horse face, he could never truly understand her.
Perhaps, even with his past memories... it was Gold Ship who saw through him, rather than him seeing through Gold Ship.
"Sigh... Gold Ship, I can't figure you out at all."
"Hehe, no need to be modest~ Old Man's the one who understands me best!"
Her mischievous smile remaining unchanged as always, Gold Ship gently pulled Imanami's arm towards where the rest of the team had gathered.
Maybe she was an alien from Mars, maybe she was the incarnation of one of the Three Goddesses, maybe she was the actual Gold Ship back in his original world.
Still, no matter what, the outcome remained the same.
Gold Ship was Gold Ship.
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Imanami: What does the scouter say about her compatibility level?!
Deep Impact: It's over ninety!!!!!
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.