After 15 days of fierce fighting the Umibozu complete their operation to dismantle Section 9 by assassinating Kusanagi and capturing Batou. The dismantling of Section 9, spun by the media as a JSDF preemptive strike against a radical security unit, provides the prime minister with the public support his party needs to win the lower house elections. Three months pass, during which Togusa tries to come to terms with all that has happened with Section 9.