●Shroomurai

●The Shroomurai isn't the animal, but the fungal colony controlling the host

●Once the host breathes in the spores, the incubation starts and slowly takes control of the host, peacefully bringing them into the hivemind

●Once fully integrated, the fungal colony starts to grow in the shape of ronin or samurai armor, making a surprisingly hard mushroom cap as the armor pieces form around the host

●The longer a host is infected, the more sophisticated and intricate the shroom armor will become, slowly upgrading to a higher rank over time

●The fungus itself can be a bright blue on top and dark red on the underside, or vise-versa depending on the colony's clan.

●So far, there are only two known clans: the Akinoko clan and the Aomeji clan. Both are sworn enemies to one another

●Older fungi will gain a golden trim around the base of the cap and can sometimes create intricate patterns used to identify the age and rank of the growth, as well as what hive mind they belong to

●After the host reaches a certain age in their life, the colours on the caps start to fade. However, only the current oldest will fade completely to white, with the gold becoming more prominent and intricate -- at this point they become the Mushogun.

●The Mushogun is a powerful figure for all the fungal colonies, taking a neutral stance on the clans. Each clan's leader is loyal to them. The Mushogun has the power to stop any conflict between the clans if they see fit

I need to give a big thanks to my friends for their kind words that helped me finish this one and a big thanks to  hakuten for helping with the names. I'm not the best at naming things