Orochi Iori

**Orochi Iori**, also named as **Insane Iori with Blood of Orochi Under the Night of the Moon**, is Iori Yagami under the effects of the Riot of the Blood.

He was first seen in *The King of Fighters '96* in Iori's ending where he kills Mature and Vice. His first appearance as a playable character was in *The King of Fighters '97* as a mid-boss.

## Story

### Past

Due to the pact the Yasakani clan made with Orochi, all members of the bloodline are subject to the Riot of the Blood.

### Orochi Saga

#### The King of Fighters '96

Iori is first seen entering this state during the tournament in '96 and kills Vice and Mature.

#### The King of Fighters '97

During the finals of the '97 tournament, the Heavenly Kings activate the Riot of Blood in Iori. He eventually snaps out of it and helps fight Orochi. When Orochi was about to lose, it triggers the Riot of the Blood in Iori in an attempt to make him turn against Kyo and Chizuru Kagura. This backfires with Iori strangling Orochi allowing Kyo to deliver the final blow and Chizuru to reseal the deity.

### Tales of Ash

#### The King of Fighters XI

Due to Orochi's weakening seal by the hands of Magaki during the climax of the eleventh tournament, Iori loses control and attacks both Kyo and Shingo Yabuki, with the two nearly dying at his hands. His Magatama was then stolen by Ash Crimson, ridding him of the tendencies entirely until willfully regaining his power.

## Personality

Iori has a raw, animal-like mentality, only able to speak a few words. He has a single-minded obsession with killing Kyo while in this state, to the point that he keeps screaming his name when he is not even present but he will attack anyone in his path.

## Powers

* **Slashing Hands** - Iori can use his hands as slicing weapons.
* **Pyrokinesis** - Due to his Yagami heritage, Iori can control fire. He can create purple fire from thin air, create fire balls, deliver punches of fire, create pillars of fire and put his own body on fire. His fire also has the sacred ability to put enemies in a stasis-like state. He is not immune to other types of fire. He cannot control other fires that he didn't create.

## Fighting Style

Orochi Iori's style is exactly the same as normal Iori's, but his strength and agility have been remarkably enhanced due to the Orochi power within him reaching peak levels. He is now twice as fast and twice as strong as he was before, but to offset this he takes twice as much damage as well when playable as a more traditional glass-cannon-type of fighting game character. As a CPU opponent however, he does not have the health-total drawback.

In some games, Iori in this state might have moves only exclusive to him, such as the Ura 108 Shiki: Ya Sakazuki (Reverse Method 108: Eight Wine Cups), a move available at times to normal Iori or the more unique Ura 100 Shiki: Oni Honoo (Reverse Method 100: Ogre Blaze) in *Capcom vs. SNK* and *Capcom vs. SNK 2*; even in some cases, he might also have the San Shingi no Ni (Three Divine Arts No. Two), only named as "????"; which is a nod to him in his berserk form holding Orochi himself by the neck at the end of *KOF '97*, as well as the fact that the action was surprising at the time.

## Fanon Appearances

### Game Appearances

* Project × Zone 3: Sacred Destinies - as a Boss Unit, only appearing in chapters 34 and 48, where in the latter, he appears as a clone created by Ouma from the memories of the playable heroes.
* Neo Geo 2: Match of the Century - as Iori's Desperation Gauge.
* The King of Fighters 2000: Re-Bout - as a PS5 exclusive Maniac Striker for Benimaru.
* Capcom Vs SNK Ultimate - Sub-Boss.
* The King Of Fighters: Masters - Playable character.
* The King of Fighters Memorial - Unlockable character.
* The King of Fighters Memorial Lv3 - Playable character.
* The King Of Fighters: Wing EX (Flash Game) - Mid-boss.

## Similar Characters

* Iori Yagami
* Another Iori
* Miss X