No Need for Tenchi! Volume 5 Book

I have to say, I really feel like the story picks up here in volume 5 and you can see it fleshing out and building on itself as Okuda progresses.

We pick up where we left off in the previous volume, only to learn very quickly that the carver Tatetsuki isn't the major antagonist in this arc; that lofty title belongs to the master Hishima serves, Yume the scientist. (Funny isn't it, how a lot of the big antagonists from the first two installments of the OVA and this manga are all connected to Washu to some degree? I've always appreciated that.) A lot of the focus this volume seems to shift between that, Minagi and her own feelings and goals, and the not-yet-blossomed romance between Gohgei and Asahi. Personally, I really enjoy the shifts, because it gives the sense all of these things are of equal importance (and they are, in their own rights) without overloading the reader on any one of them. Additionally, I always appreciate the world-building regarding Jurai and the trees, and there's a fair bit of that here.

I've missed going through this manga so much, and I intend to get to the next volume ASAP.