The mysterious "Crowds" are revealed to be strange beings controlled by the GALAX users. Meanwhile, Joe fights against the strange alien known as Berg Katze, but is beaten back when Katze uses a NOTE of their own.

While Hajime clashes with Sugane and Paiman about why the Gatchaman are so secretive, Rui is faced with a dissenter in one of the "Hundred", who believes that Crowds should be used to kill evil politicians.

Utsu-tsu risks her life to heal the wounded, and Hajime's identity is revealed to the world. Rui helps Hajime and Utsu-tsu evade the press, but then demands they give up being Gatchaman, because GALAX makes Gatchaman unnecessary.

Rui decides to stand against Katze using the might of Crowds, but Katze uses the power of Gatchaman to overwhelm them. The Gatchaman team rushes to Rui's rescue, but find themselves outmatched.

Katze takes on Rui's form to steal control of GALAX and form a new "Hundred". Hajime suggests the best way to fight is for the Gatchaman team and Rui to reveal themselves and go public. Rui learns a troubling fact about the side effects of Crowds.

As more citizens use Crowds and fight against each other, chaos breaks out. O.D. risks everything to retrieve Rui's NOTE from Katze. Hajime sends her mother a cryptic message, then leaves for a final showdown with Katze.