Bushi A bushi was a class of fighter common in Kara - Tur . In Shou Lung , the bushi was known as a chanshi or warrior . Culture . Although they could come from any race or social class , a bushi was most often a person of low station who , in order to improve their lot in life , had adopted the way of the warrior . A few bushi were failed or disgraced kensai . Many bushi became mercenaries or wandering swordsmen , others brigands or highwaymen . Some were professional soldiers serving in armies , working as guards for noble courts , or working for samurai . All bushi had no masters and no lords and no ties to a temple or monastery . Usually having poor beginnings , and usually still poor , bushi made their money by any means . Fortunately , a sturdy warrior or a strong arm was rarely out of work . Merchants and peasants hired bushi for protection , and though the coin was not great , and the fare and conditions not good , it was sufficient for a bushi to get by . However , it was not unknown for a bushi to steal when they had the need ; good bushi restricted their larceny to their enemies , lawful bushi only when in desperate poverty . Nevertheless , bushi had their self - respect and usually tried to be honorable and follow a warrior code like the bushido of the samurai . People just didn ' t expect them to cleave to closely to it , and bushi didn ' t feel bound by it . Otherwise , bushi could have any alignment . Abilities . A person had to be strong , as well have good fortitude and agility , to become a bushi . They were as resilient and capable in battle as any fighter . Typically too poor to afford armor , bushi learned to be nimble and better at dodging blows , in armor or out . A bushi could opt to specialize in any one weapon of their choice , at the beginning of their career . Bushi developed a number of skills , but as they were often low on coin , they learned to make do and craft and maintain their own weapons and armor , so they were capable armorers , bowyers , and weaponsmiths . The poor bushi developed a knack for scavenging , generally able to find common , mundane equipment in any settled area for either half its normal cost in coin or mundane work , or even completely free , though good bushi always paid somehow if they could . A bushi in a town or village that wasn ' t hostile to them could always discover some food , shelter against the elements , or paid work , but there was no guarantee on quality . When that failed , a bushi also had skills as pickpockets and cutpurses to fall back on . Bushi rarely focused on cultivating ki powers — they found life too hard and too short for self - reflection and mental discipline . Nevertheless , once a day , a bushi could use their ki to emit a fierce shout , a kiai , to briefly fight as a more powerful warrior and shrug off a blow . A successful bushi who was able to seize and control land could become a local warlord . A few dozen minor bushi then flocked to their banner , more if the warlord had a good reputation and paid well ; they soon left if not paid . Eventually , as they advanced , even minor samurai came into their service , which legitimatized the bushi warlord as being comparable ( but not equal ) in status to a samurai . Thereafter , the bushi ' s family would be recognized as a minor samurai clan . Possessions . Bushi could learn and use any kind of armor , shield , or weapon . Using ninja weaponry was considered dishonorable , but no great impediment to the bushi . Being poor , bushi usually went without armor . History . In Kozakura , alliances of powerful local warriors — led by younger noble scions without position at court , military officers , descendants of former district governors , and leaders of provincial family estates — formed a growing military class known as " bushidan " , and these warriors were known as " bushi " . By the 14th century DR , however , this military class had evolved into a system with daimyos as landholding local lords and wealthy samurai in service to them . At the bottom was the common foot - soldier or " zusa " . " Bushi " became a generic term for such warriors . In neighboring Wa , bushi were courageous soldiers who ' d fought through centuries of warfare . However , by the 14th century DR , peace reigned and many bushi found themselves unable to adapt as Wa ' s samurai had done . Old and young bushi were divided on their place in the new Wa . Younger bushi , unfamiliar with war , stepped into academic and administrative positions in the cities , but the old - timers thought them cowards . The veterans had only their fighting skills and old glories , and became bandits , mercenaries or wanderers , others as guards or common laborers in rice fields , or even thugs and enforcers for the northern yakuza . These unassimilated veteran bushi were a social problem for Wa , and they held the risk of violent uprising .