Description

C: Smoke of Gunpowder, Hail of Bullets – BARRAGE.Aramaki has been released under his own recognizance, and meets with the head of the Ministry of Justice to explain the situation and ask for help in ensuring his team's safety, but the Minister of Justice is powerless to affect the situation beyond the prosecution of Yakushima. Elsewhere, Saito and Ishikawa are caught in separate traps set by Umibozu teams, but not before successfully dispersing information seeds given to them by the Major. With Batou and Kusanagi as the only uncaptured members of Section 9, Batou undertakes a risky sortie to the Major's apartment to recover her sentimentally-valued watch. Before he can escape, Umibozu commandos arrive and a firefight ensues. Batou successfully fends off the first wave of attacks, but is unexpectedly confronted with two armoured combat suits, the second of which proves to be more than he can handle. Just when it seems that Batou will be killed, help arrives from the Tachikomas. Having witnessed the attack on Section 9, the three remaining Tachikomas rendezvous at the remains of Section 9's headquarters, and after a time manage to find Batou at Kusanagi's apartment. The Tachikoma tanks resolve to protect Batou at any cost, ultimately sacrificing themselves to save his life. Meanwhile, Kusanagi arrives to evacuate a badly injured Batou, taking him to her hideout where she stores her remote bodies. Batou returns Kusanagi's watch and she puts it on her wrist. After taken care of his wounds, both make plans to leave the country, but the Umibozu, acting on orders from the Cabinet, attempt to assassinate Kusanagi at the airport. Though the assassination appears to be successful, it is revealed that the Major's decapitated body wasn't wearing her watch, indicating that she was piloting one of her spare bodies remotely from her safehouse.