Left-Behind Trace

Shot and hospitalized, Togusa is frantic to hand off what he discovered before it slips away. Reliving his memories lets the team witness the DEA's assault on the Sunflower Society, which stirs fury among them. Aramaki informs the DEA's chief that Togusa had been inside the Sunflower building during the raid, a disclosure that sends the Narcotics Suppression Squad toward the residence of Dr. Imakurusu. Years earlier Imakurusu chaired the panel that rejected the Murai Vaccine, then, once diagnosed with Cyberbrain Sclerosis, quietly began taking the very vaccine he had blocked and vanished from sight.

Section 9 suspects the doctor could be the thread that unravels the whole Laughing Man affair, so they scramble to find him. Borrowing surveillance satellites belonging to the American Empire, they pinpoint his location, and Batou steps forward to bring him in. Meanwhile, powerful figures within the Japanese government mount their own offensive against the unit, hoping to bury the case for good and throwing their weight behind the rival squad.

Both teams reach Imakurusu at the same moment, and the standoff erupts into open combat between the Narcotics Suppression Squad and Section 9. Motoko Kusanagi takes on an MSDF Type 303 combat mecha single-handed, buying enough time for Batou to slip away with the doctor. Pazu and Saito show up to bolster the fight. The team fails to keep Imakurusu safe, yet they walk away with the proof they need to move against the DEA.

Numbered as the twenty-first chapter of Stand Alone Complex, this entry carries the subtitle ERASER. It aired in Japan on February 18, 2003, with the English broadcast arriving on April 3, 2005. Kenichi Takeshita handled direction and Dai Sato wrote the script. It falls between Vanished Medication and Corporate Graft, and it deepens the political conspiracy pressing in on the team from inside their own government.