Sunset in the Lonely City

Now holding the full account of the Laughing Man affair, verified through the elderly Mr. Serano, Section 9 prepares to strike at the true culprit behind the corporate blackmail, Secretary General Yakushima. Before they can act, an unnamed party feeds word of the secretive unit to the press to smear it. Aramaki carries the evidence straight to the Prime Minister, expecting Yakushima to be pulled from office and charged. The leader hesitates, unsure he can force the arrest with the lower house elections at a delicate point and his party's backing far from certain.

To shield his party's standing, the Prime Minister turns a Special Forces Restriction Bill against the team, pledging to move on Yakushima only once voting concludes. A grim Aramaki goes along, calling his people together and passing word through the Major that they must stay alive at any cost. He and Togusa are seized almost at once, becoming the first taken. Out at sea near New Port City, a Maritime Self-Defense carrier and its escorts unload the Umibozu, a hardened black-operations squad kitted out with armored suits and gunships, who close in on the unit's headquarters.

After trading fire with the assault force, the members fake a mass suicide and slip down to the basement. Kusanagi relays Aramaki's final instruction, then formally declares the group disbanded. Boma is implied to be fired upon out of frame, Pazu is picked up at his usual bar haunt, and Batou is shown to have gotten clear. The chapter carries the subtitle Annihilation.