Togusa and rookie operative Tsunagi of Section 9 have been sent north following reports that Major Kusanagi's artificial body was seen in the city of Towada. Similar rumors send Batou and Ishikawa hundreds of miles south to infiltrate the ranks of a criminal organization in Okinawa. Over the course of both investigations, Section 9 learns that Hashikami and the killer known as the "White Bear" are plotting to assasinate Shinra Mikomoto, the recently elected mayor of New Port City. This news sends the scattered members of Section 9 swooping down on the city, where everything hinges on the mayor's fate.