襲

The top 16 strokes are the chinese radical for "dragon". Joining up both meanings of the radical we can name the top part of this kanji "imperial dragon". Two-headed snakes do exist as biological curiosities, and they look a bit like a slingshot (with the heads splitting at a junction). Our imperial dragon here, the pet of a Chinese emperor, is a rare "three-headed slingshot-snake" kept in a vase and fed with meat. When the emperor attacked neighbours, his army wore the imperial dragon garment.

Source: Kanji Koohii community