Prologue - Go to the West

Go to the West is the prologue of the Saiyuki manga.

Summary
Seeking the source of a voice which has been calling out to him incessantly, Genjo Sanzo discovered Son Goku confined within a cage of rock. Although Goku denied having called out to anyone, Sanzo reached for his hand, breaking the bondage of bars and chain and setting him free. Sanzo took Goku away with him, claiming that he had no other choice.

''“In an age of chaos, when heaven and earth were intertwined, there was a peaceful land where humans and yokai live together in harmony. A true source of culture and faith. This land was called Togenkyo.”''

In the present day, Sanzo and Goku are on their way to meet up with Sha Gojyo, Cho Hakkai, and Jeep.

Five days earlier, Sanzo had been summoned to an audience with the Sanbutsushin at the Temple of the Setting Sun in Choan, where he was assigned the mission of traveling west to Tenjiku to stop the revival of Gyumaoh. This revival experiment, which uses the forbidden practice of combining science and yokai magic, has caused a wave of negative energy to spread across the land, triggering the yokai of Togenkyo to suddenly become violent and lose their sense of self. The peace has been shattered as humans now live in fear. Sanzo was ordered to take with him on this mission the three yokai with whom he shares a past: Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai.

Sanzo questioned why he is being sent on a quest with yokai, as they cannot be trusted not to succumb to the effects of the Minus Wave. The Sanbutsushin explained that it is because these three are as much human as they are yokai, thus enabling them to maintain their sanity. They alone have the mental and physical strength to rival the yokai and so must be trusted with this task. When Sanzo expressed doubt, as he trusts no one but himself, the Sanbutsushin told him to believe the eyes of his heart, and to see for himself what he should believe in.

Back in the present day, Sanzo and Goku are ambushed by a band of yokai. After dispatching two attackers, they are surrounded by the remaining mob. Gojyo and Hakkai arrive, easily killing the yokai mob while Sanzo stands by and observes. The last surviving yokai accuses Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai of betraying their own kind by siding with the humans. As he urges them to side with Gyumaoh instead, the three respond that they are on no one's side but their own and proceed to kill the remaining yokai. Having made up his mind about the other three, Sanzo informs them that they are going west. Meanwhile, at Hoto Castle in Tenjiku, Yaone informs Kougaiji, Gyumaoh’s son, that the Sanzo party is on the move in the east. Kougaiji arranges to depart the next morning with Yaone and Dokugakuji in order to counter this new threat. He then stands before the stone pillar within which his mother is imprisoned, telling her that everything he does is for her sake.

''“East and west. Each side begins to move. To the place where the sun rises... to the distand land where the sun sets...”''

As the Sanzo party sets out on their journey west, Jiroushin gives a report to Kanzeon Bosatsu from the Sanbutsushin, informing that the events have finally been set in motion. Kanzeon muses that everything had already started 500 years ago, when Son Goku was born from a stone egg on the Mountain of Flowering Trees...