Man, that bait-and-switch. Was expecting this chapter to end grimly. Thank God this chapter even ends "Akira's long-time feud with Takeo" plotpoint nicely.
I think Akira already has in mind what to do so that all of the factions are still working together after the cardiothoracic department is split. Like for example, making a member of her faction the head of clinical division, a member of Gunji's faction (an ordinary surgeon, obviously not Kihara or fishfuck tho) the head of education division, and a member of Kunitachi's faction (a world-class surgeon or something, like Clemens or Baumann) the head of research division.
Next is vol 25. Can't believe this is gonna end already. The official Japanese and Indonesian release were finished 9 and 8 years ago respectively tho, but the time period just wasn't exactly right for me to follow this manga, hence me reading this here instead