Quote Originally Posted by Sidnne
In regards to the Samurai... Historically speaking, a samurai would kick a ninja's ass any day of the week. Ninja were not the uber-skilled, kick-ass fighters that Hollywood has made them out to be, however the Samurai were. A ninja sword was not even very sharp and was used primarily for defense. Ninja were stealth assassins, not great warriors; they killed with things like poisons or by waiting for hours in darkness for a chance to ambush their target.

If a ninja had to fight a samurai in a 1v1 battle, the ninja would not have a chance. I know that doesn't matter much in a manga, but still, I wouldn't be so quick to laugh at the samurai, and I hope they put up a good fight and aren't just cannon fodder for Falcon.
I'm not sure, but I think it was more of a caste system. Samurais were at the top, then farmers, and merchants were at the bottom. You were born a Samurai, you didn't have to pass through some test. It was a privileged class. You were also the only ones allowed to carry swords. That's the way I heard it.