WMG / Saiyuki

The art of Seiten Taisei in the elaborate robes is really foreshadowing of his Buddha form at the end of the series.

Assuming that Minekura uses this part of the original Journey to the West, and assuming that this appearance isn't just Rule of Cool, art such as this◊ depicting the Seiten Taisei could be really far in advance foreshadowing of what Goku/Seiten Taisei will become upon the end of the journey (see the last listing on The Other Wiki for details on Sun Wukong's becoming a Buddha).My reasons are thus:

• Whenever shown in this form, Goku always appears nearly fully grown (or at least, not as a child) and thus he must take this form sometime after meeting Sanzo, Gojyo, and Hakkai. So far, he hasn't.
• Seiten Taisei is always shown in this form with the nyoi-bo, despite the fact that the Burial Extra shows us how Goku got the nyoi-bo when horsing around with Gojyo. Unlike the original Journey, he did not have it since his time in Heaven. In addition to this, at all points in the main series in which he has broken his limiter, he has not once summoned the staff to fight- possibly simply because he doesn't need it, but perhaps because in that berserk state, he can't summon it (similar to how Kougaiji states in the Saiyuki Saiyuubito that one cannot summon a fiend when the contract holder is not themselves, as he could not summon Engokuki while being mind controlled). Upon enlightenment, in which the consciousness of Goku and Seiten Taisei merge, perhaps he can summon it.
• Seiten Taisei is almost always shown in this form with extra markings around his eyes, which have never been present at any other time he has been released. This might be some symbol of his enlightenment, similar to a chakra on the forehead of a god or Sanzo priest. In the cases where they're forgotten, it's likely early versions or Minekura forgetting them (it wouldn't be the first time; she forgot his normal inverted Ohm youkai mark on his stomach in at least one artbook picture, and even pointed this fact out).
• The Seiten Taisei is wearing some form of scrollwork diadem but clearly not the limiter that Goku has now, suggesting he's gone beyond needing the limiter.
• This picture◊ from the Salty Dog V artbook, which arguably shows him in the very state of nirvana.

Hakkai will go blind.

Because it'd be incredibly ironic, because he's put a lot of strain on his remaining eye.

Hakuryuu is actually... Goujun. Recycled.

Okay. Hakuryuu (also known as Jeep or 'the little white dragony lizard Hakkai has') is basically part of the group. Goujun is eventually brought into the group during the events of Gaiden, where he's Kenren and Tenpou's boss. During the standoff in Western Army headquarters, Goujun is their main hostage and Kenren and Tenpou formally resign before their escape attempt to clear their commanding officer's name. Goujun reappears in the underground laboratory rebuking Kenren for not going through his chain of command. He survives the rebellion but is seriously wounded. After completing a written account of the events as a penance for being blind to Li Touten's corrpution, Goujun dies of his wounds. As the others are cast back onto earth many centuries later, reincarnated, it also makes sense that Goujun is reincarnated as well. What else would be so fitting as being what he had so much power over back in the good ol' days? Plus, it would explain why Hakuryuu is so fond of Hakkai- they were good mates back in the day. Also, if he remembered all of this, it would explain why Hakuryuu is so helpful to the boys even though at least half the group tend to forget about him at times and annoy him to no end. Besides, it'd make a cool twist in the story!

• Confirmed in a 2009 interview.

Sanzo will become (or is already) a Youkai

Because the whole 'kill a thousand demons' thing worked on Hakkai. And how many youkai has Sanzo killed? Um. Lots. And it would be pure fetish appeal for some people. So... yeah..

• An interview with Minekura states we don't need to worry about this happening... So, guess this is Jossed, huh?

The events of Gaiden will be revealed sometime during Blast!

Because how can it not happen? Remember Kanzeon's ending speech in Reload? And the ominous picture of Nataku? It would be one hell of a chapter. And it would just be pure, undiluted awesome. (Besides, there's just not enough angst in Blast yet. Mwahaha.)

• Given Ukoku's propensity for Mind Screws (i.e., spouting off information about Genjyo's birth parents during their fight in Reload to throw him off balance), I can totally see him revealing information from Gaiden to try to shake the ikkou's confidence in their mission.
  • I agree about the Gaiden storyline being at least hinted at in Blast most likely through Sanzo, given Konzen's cause of death and his even stronger connection to Goku in this life, but as for Ukoku being the one to reveal it... No. That happened hundreds of years ago, in Heaven. It's both way before his time and is in no way recorded on Earth. Ukoku has some serious power, but I think everyone can agree that the gods aren't gonna start exposing secrets to a human like him.
    • The manga seems to be headed towards this, with Nataku turning up, and Goku seeming to recognise him, if not identify him in the latest chapter.

The Minus Wave is not an inevitable side effect of mixing magic with science.

In the very first chapter, the Sanbutsushin claim that the forbidden technique of mixing youkai magic with human science in order to revive Gyumaoh is the cause of the Minus Wave, and explicitly compare it to how the children of youkai and humans are born cursed. There are a few problems with this.

• First of all, Gojyo doesn't seem that much more cursed than anyone else in this series.
• Secondly, Nii and Gyokumen are seen at one point gloating about how they deliberately caused the Minus Wave, implying that it wasn't something that simply happened.
• Thirdly, Jeep showed up sometime before the Minus Wave, and extras claim that he's a product of such forbidden experiments as well (which also explains why he can, you know, turn into a car, an ability not demonstrated by any other dragon in the series).
• Fourthly, the beings deemed "itan" by Heaven—Goku, Nataku, Homura—don't seem to be any less inherently capable of moral reasoning than anyone else. Yeah, they're powerful...but it's only when they're treated like ticking time-bombs that that power becomes dangerous.

Instead, the Sanbutsushin are either misinformed, or actively lying in order to prevent mortals from gaining too much power and becoming a threat to Heaven. Given the culture of Heaven we were exposed to in Gaiden, either option seems entirely plausible.

Sharak will die

How many other cool female characters have survived? TWO. My bet is that she goes psycho and Sanzo has to kill her, or she dies saving the ikkou. Either way, she's toast.

Sharak is a literal arhat.

A kind of alternative to the WMG above. Sharak introduces herself as "The 28th of Arhat" (as opposed to Genjyo's "31st of T'ang"). In Tibetan Buddhism, an arhat is a being enlightened enough to predict the time and place their next incarnation will appear. The best known real world arhat would be the Dalai Lama, who is believed to be the 14th successive incarnation of the same being. There are dozens of arhat lineages of varying authority in Tibet. Hence, succession for the Koten sutra may go by reincarnation instead of by master-disciple transmission, perhaps explaining how the Koten line has survived despite being MUCH closer to India and Gyokumen Koushu's minions than the Seiten line. OR...

The Koten Sutra's power has kept Sharak hidden from Ukoku

Sharak is thousands of miles closer to Houtou Castle and the Minus Wave than Koumyou was at Kinzan Temple, and than the unnamed Uten Sutra sanzo was when he was killed, yet she's survived to the present day. Yes, part of it may be that she's holed up in a heavily armed fortress at ~11,000ft elevation in the middle of the Himalayas. However, it may also be because the Koten sutra governs "the unknown and the ineffable". She may be able to conceal the location to some degree, enough at least that Ukoku and Gyokumen haven't been able to pinpoint it yet.

• As of Shot 4 of Blast, PARTIALLY CONFIRMED. Sharak explains the power of the Koten sutra as "defense"—more or less a kekkai as in X/1999—rather than "the unknown" but confirms that the Koten is the only reason Tibet is still at least partially inhabitable by humans. In order to protect an area that large, she has to have resonators in each village (the vajra of the local shrines, it looks like) and cannot herself leave the immediate area without inactivating the kekkai.

One sanzo will end up with all five sutras

Related to "Sharak Will Die". We're down to 3 sanzo priests: Genjyo, Sharak, and Ukoku. Sharak's clearly been fighting for her life for quite some time now (she's got an impressive collection of scars even by Saiyuki standards), Genjyo is on a virtual suicide mission, and Ukoku "never feels alive unless it's eat or be eaten". Sharak's chances, as a named female character, are slim. There will be at most one survivor from Genjyo and Ukoku's showdown. Chances are there will be ONE surviving sanzo with all five sutras...which we've been told is a recipe for disaster (remember, living sanzo priests are supposed to split up to reduce risk, even when only carrying one sutra at a time). OR...

The age of the sutras, and of the sanzo priests, will end

Related to the WMG above. There are currently only 3 out of the required 5 sanzos, none of whom seem to have acolytes standing by to take over for them (unlike, say, Goudai training novices who hope to become sanzos or Koumyou having Koryuu in place to succeed him immediately). According to Ibun, this problem did not exist 40 years ago. Ever since Genkai's untimely death, the life expectancy for current sanzos has been plummeting. When it comes down to a confrontation between Ukoku and Genjyo, dark and light, is one going to be able to overpower the other or are they going to end up in some sort of stalemate or mutual destruction? Without anyone left to bear them, the sutras may change into some other, less dangerous form that does not require a human bearer, marking the End of an Age (and likely the end of Shangri-La's peace and stability as well). We're told that when more than one sutra is in close proximity, their powers can combine into something completely new and different. All five together could be...explosive.

• Ooh yay, stuff go boom! And what strikes my mind is an image of Ukoku throwing back his head and laughing while he's engulfed by the resultant fireball. (He's crazy enough.)
  • For sure he's crazy enough. "HEY KOUMYOU I FINALLY MANAGED TO DIE~~~~~~!"
    • And can you imagine them greeting each other in the afterlife? I don't ship them together, but I can't deny they have a fascinating dynamic.
    • I have to think Ukoku would be greeted by Koumyou bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet and singsonging, "You~ owe~ me~ a~ suuuuuun~!"
    • Ahahaha. But that just brings up questions to me of what exactly their bet was, and how they EVER expected the winner to claim his prize.
• As of the Oct 2012 chapter of Blast, it's been confirmed that activating Tenchi Kaigen sutras in close proximity—even unintentionally—causes extremely powerful resonance effects. Genjyo and Sharak have agreed it's too dangerous to experiment with but expect to see more of this as the three remaining sanzos get closer and closer...

Sharak is Kanzeon in disguise

Because we all know Se likes messing with Sanzo and co.

Sharak is Minekura Kazuya in disguise

Elements of her character design certainly seem to be influenced by Minekura's recent health issues, so she qualifies as an Author Avatar if nothing else...although Sharak's much better integrated into the story-world than most author insert characters.

Jeep's true nature will be dramatically revealed

Everyone will react with shock and/or horror and/or amazement, and we'll get a double-page spread of everyone's reactions looking suitably astonished; then the next page will have Goku saying "That's such a big deal? I knew it all along", immediately followed in the next panel by Sanzo and Gojyo simultaneously punching him in the head.

Ukoku tore out his other eye so he wouldn't have to win the bet against Koumyou

This goes on the assumption that at the end of Reload Sanzo shot out one (and only one) of Ukoku's eyes; Ukoku did the other one himself. That's not just because he's nucking futs, although that is certainly true. He realized that there was pretty much nothing standing in his way against reviving Gyumaoh, and from there somehow winning their bet. "Winning" means that the game's over, and he'd already spent so much of his time defining himself as the "dark" in opposition to the "light"; he realized that he was about to lose his "definition", and so gave himself a handicap. Literally. Although he used Sanzo as an excuse because he wasn't ready to admit it to himself yet.

TL;DR Ukoku is a crazy bastard with issues revolving around Koumyou.

• Alternately, given how genre-savvy Ukoku is, he may be going for something on the order of Disability Superpower. He describes blindness as "true darkness" and he's obviously trying to force Genjyo to fit the role of Defender of the Light...while at the same time giving himself a kind of immunity to "seeing the light". Either way, he's still the creepiest Blind Seer EVER and that's saying something.
  • No argument on that point; but who are the other creepy ones?
    • Well, there's Tiresias from Greek myth, Odin from Norse mythology, Hinoto from X1999, Destiny from The Sandman, Zatoichi, Paul Atreides in Dune, the Seers with their eyes sewn shut from Digger...
    • For Tiresias, it depends on what myths, but I mostly recall him just as being the bearer of bad tidings; Odin can be creepy, but he's only missing one eye; I agree about Destiny's; Zatoichi isn't a seer, "just" a badass with a sword; Paul is creepy in a "takes THE LAW too far" way instead of "batnuts insane" like Ukoku; and I've read neither X1999 nor Digger.

The other 4 sutras have different activation mantras

Okay, this one is mostly just for my geeky satisfaction but maybe someone else will find it interesting. The activation mantra for Genjyo's Maten sutra is On mani hatsumei un, the Japanese version of the Sanskrit Om mani padme hum, one of the most widely used mantras in Mahayana Buddhism. "Mani padme" specifically invokes Avalokiteshvara/Kanzeon. There are 5 sutras and 5 bodhisattva administrators in Heaven. I'm guessing that the other sutras use different activation mantras honoring different bodhisattvas—they may all be in the 6-syllable format, which is popular in Tibetan Buddhism. I.e., Om vajrapani hum to Channa Dorje or Om wagishwari hum to Manjusri.

• Partially Jossed. The mantra seems to be the same for both the Maten and Koten sutras ("om mani padme hum" invoking Avalokiteshvara) but the command phrase seems to be different.

Hassan will become the next "Uten" Sanzo

So we know he had training as a potential Sanzo candidate, and I'm of the firm belief that Sharak will die (because she's so awesome, and this way I'm either prepared or pleasantly surprised). She dies, but before croaking manages to pass the sutra on to him. That, or she decides she's sick and tired of being a Sanzo, and is all like "Hey, you; you're stuck with the job now. Have fun. I'm off to tour Europe without a bunch of youkai trying to kill me."