Saiyuki Reload, Volume 8 by Kazuya Minekura

Separated from his companions, Sanzo stays with the humans who have control over the water hole that was once controlled by the Youkai. The humans say that they are afraid of the attacks from the Youkai, and have been storing up weapons to defend themselves. However, they aren't content with the status quo and want to get rid of the Youkai once and for all.

Goku, Gyoujo and Hakkai, meanwhile, are living with the Youkai in their village. The Youkai are angry because the humans are denying them access to the water hole that had once been theirs. They have been hauling water from the edge of the desert to get by, but when that water suddenly dries up, they may have no choice but to attack the humans for water.

Gyoujo and Hakkai offer to take their jeep to get water, which will alleviate the problem temporarily. But... it won't provide a permanent solution, and all the Youkai know this is merely a stopgap solution. But what can they do?

The humans ask Sanzo and Bishop Hazel for their help against the bloodthirsty Youkai, but Sanzo won't help unless the village is actually in danger, and Hazel agrees with him. So the humans kidnap a Youkai and put him in the village, then claim he sneaked in and attacked them. Hazel is fooled, and goes with the humans to attack the Youkai village. Sanzo isn't fooled, but accompanies the humans anyway to keep an eye on them.

Meanwhile, the Youkai are enraged that the humans have killed the Youkai they kidnapped, and take weapons to attack the village. Goku and the children are hidden in a secret underground chamber while the Youkai march to attack the human village. The humans set fire to the Youkai village. But when their words afterwards reveal what they have done, Sanzo is livid, and realizes who must be behind it. As the Youkai move on the human village to attack it, he and Hazel leave, letting the humans enjoy their fate for having tricked them. But they are still separated from the others, and no one knows when they might find each other again. Also, Hazel crushes his holy symbol that gave him the power to revive others with stolen souls.

Separated from each other, will the two groups ever find each other again?

In most of the volumes of this series, it is the Youkai who are the troublemakers, their control eroded by the "minus wave" that comes from mixing magic and technology. But in this volume, we see that humans can be worse than Youkai at their worst, as the humans cold-bloodedly slaughter an entire village of Youkai who are angry because the humans previously stole their village and aren't giving them access to their water source. The Youkai might have the "minus wave" to blame, but the humans have no such excuse.

But the humans reap the rewards of their acts, as Sanzo and Hazel, who have been tricked by the humans, leave them when they are being attacked by the enraged Youkai, and frankly, it's an appropriate punishment. Though we don't know if the Youkai win, the humans deserve to be slaughtered for what they have done, and we respect Sanzo more for not falling for their trick. Hazel, who has the stated mission of protecting humans from Youkai appears to be much less intelligent and perceptive because of it, but he punishes himself by destroying his medallion, which helps him to revive the dead.

This was a rather sad volume, and ends with the two groups separated, leading me to wonder how long will pass before they find each other again. Nevertheless, a most enjoyable book that makes me want to read the next one.