Pirates Orochi is based on the mythical creature, Yamata no Orochi. Yamata no Orochi (八岐の大蛇), or simply Orochi, was a Japanese dragon told in Izumo mythology of the Shinto religion, which was slain by Susanoo, the Shinto God of the Sea and Storm. Orochi had 8 heads and 8 tails and as such Yamata no Orochi literally meant "8-branched giant snake". Pirate Orochi references Yamata no Orochi by its motif, the eight snake-heads on the Orochi Warrior Wheel, as well as the large, Orochi face on the Warrior Wheel.