Haku and Karin exchanged a glance, each choosing Gaara and Sasuke as their opponent as they stepped between the two.
Gaara frowned, and the sand beneath his feet surged toward Haku. But just before it struck him, a wall of ice blocked the sand's assault.
Then one ice spike after another formed and shot toward Gaara, only to be completely blocked by the Sand Shield.
"An Ice Release bloodline limit. Unfortunately, your attacks are useless against me..."
Gaara shook his head slightly, but soon looked down. At some point, a layer of ice crystals had spread across the ground, freezing his calves and leaving him unable to move.
At that moment, Haku appeared behind Gaara and raised an Ice Release kunai.
A smile curled across Gaara's lips. His frozen body turned into a Wind Clone, while his real body emerged from the quicksand. The sand from his gourd immediately engulfed Haku's body.
But the body swallowed by the sand was merely a Water Clone illusion as well.
Unlike the near-showy battle between Haku and Gaara, the fight between Karin and Sasuke was much more straightforward. It wasn't that Sasuke hadn't tried to show off his techniques, but Karin could accurately guess his intentions every time.
Karin fought more like a wild berserker, and even when injured, she healed rapidly.
That recovery speed reminded Sasuke of the terror of being dominated by Naruto. After calming himself, he unleashed Sharingan: Genjutsu.
But Sharingan: Genjutsu was equally ineffective. Karin snapped awake almost instantly, golden chains emerging from behind her one after another, leaving him with no way to deal with her.
The Genin watching from the sidelines were already dumbfounded.
After being tempered by several missions, they were no longer rookie Genin fresh out of the Academy. They were all elite Genin selected