The main reason ninja formed power blocs bound together by family ties was their bloodline.
Most ninja families possessed either inherited secret techniques or special bloodline abilities.
These abilities and bloodlines, unique to each family, naturally led ninja to build networks of power centered on their families.
But the daimyo faced no such limitations in their abilities, and neither did the nobles.
"Abolish the daimyo system? Then what do you intend to do?"
"I want to separate the ninja villages from their nations."
"But once we lose financial and material support, would the ninja have to work the fields or take up production themselves? And you have to understand—even if everyone in the village, young and old, pitched in, our population would still be a drop in the ocean compared to the entire nation. We'd struggle to supply ourselves."
"We wouldn't be refusing trade with the Land of Fire."
"Then what?"
"We'd have the nation establish a normal trade alliance with the village as a separate power. If necessary, we could use force to achieve that."
When Jiraiya heard Minato say that, he was utterly stunned. He seriously wondered whether he had fallen under a genjutsu. How could his student, Minato Namikaze, say something like that?
Minato had a gentle disposition. Although he had learned to govern with an iron hand during his time as Hokage, this was nothing like his usual methods.
Yet Minato's subsequent explanation helped Jiraiya understand, and he came to support the idea.
He did not intend to abolish the daimyo system right from the outset. Quite the opposite—he wanted to expose its flaws to the public first.
How would he do that?
Through loss.
The best way to recognize something's importance was to see how its absence affected your life.
"Master Jiraiya, it's like the