<p>He should have known before the Konoha-attack. Years before, he worked together with Hanzo, who was attacked by Nagato using his Rinnegan. Back then, Danzo most likely came to know about the reason why his men got killed.</p>

<p>Source: Chapter 447</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-27T11:08:01.063Z
@debal - He possessed Shisui's *Mangekyō Sharingan*. He stole it from Shisui to get the power of *Kotoamatsukami*.
Rahul
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-27T11:10:42.340Z
@debal That wasn't the question. He just wanted to know whether he knew *they existed*, not whether he could awake them.
looper
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-27T10:11:09.160Z
2013-11-27T10:11:09.160Z
looper
<p>Its probably never mentioned that Danzo knew about the existence of rinnegan. <br>
But, if he knew, there are various reasons why he didn't have it on his arms.<br></p>

<p>One reason could be - 
<br>
According to the wiki: <br></p>

<blockquote class="spoiler">
  <p> The first person to possess the Rinnegan was the Sage of the Six
 Paths. Because of the Sage's mythical status, many people believed the
 Rinnegan was only a legend or a mutation</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Secondly, In the whole series only Nagato (not to forget all other pain) was shown with Rinnegan and they were always hidden in their village so no one ever found out till they actually fought against jiraiya when the frogs who were with him found out.<br>
That means there was least chance of Danzo knowing about Nagato. 
<br>This is not a perfect answer but I guess this is the only detail revealed. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-27T11:11:46.983Z
The six paths of pain sported the Rinnegan because of Nagato's Six path technique. There weren't so many Rinnegans in reality. They were just an extension of Nagato. And also, its very likely that Danzo knew about it, but just that he did was not able to awaken it, because to awaken the Rinnegan, one needs to have both the Senju DNA and the Uhicha DNA. But Danzo only had the Senju DNA which he got by infusing Hashirama's cells.
Rahul
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-27T11:32:45.640Z
Very true!! :)
I should've mentioned that also!
votelessbubble
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-27T09:59:49.813Z
2013-11-27T09:59:49.813Z
votelessbubble
<p>While searching for the reason why Danzo didn't get the Rinnegan, I want to ask if he actually knew the Rinnegan existed before the attack in Konoha? What are the evidences that support this fact?</p>

<naruto>
Did Danzo know that the Rinnegan existed?
# Did Danzo know that the Rinnegan existed?
Posted by: username_0 on 2013-11-27
While searching for the reason why Danzo didn't get the Rinnegan, I want to ask if he actually knew the Rinnegan existed before the attack in Konoha? What are the evidences that support this fact?
**Tags:** naruto
---
## 2 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2013-11-27. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
He should have known before the Konoha-attack. Years before, he worked together with Hanzo, who was attacked by Nagato using his Rinnegan. Back then, Danzo most likely came to know about the reason why his men got killed.

Source: Chapter 447
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2013-11-27): @debal - He possessed Shisui's *Mangekyō Sharingan*. He stole it from Shisui to get the power of *Kotoamatsukami*.  
> **username_1** (2013-11-27): @debal That wasn't the question. He just wanted to know whether he knew *they existed*, not whether he could awake them.  
---
### Answer by username_3 on 2013-11-27. Score: 1
Its probably never mentioned that Danzo knew about the existence of rinnegan.   
But, if he knew, there are various reasons why he didn't have it on his arms.

One reason could be -
  
According to the wiki:

> The first person to possess the Rinnegan was the Sage of the Six
> Paths. Because of the Sage's mythical status, many people believed the
> Rinnegan was only a legend or a mutation

Secondly, In the whole series only Nagato (not to forget all other pain) was shown with Rinnegan and they were always hidden in their village so no one ever found out till they actually fought against jiraiya when the frogs who were with him found out.  
That means there was least chance of Danzo knowing about Nagato.
  
This is not a perfect answer but I guess this is the only detail revealed.
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2013-11-27): The six paths of pain sported the Rinnegan because of Nagato's Six path technique. There weren't so many Rinnegans in reality. They were just an extension of Nagato. And also, its very likely that Danzo knew about it, but just that he did was not able to awaken it, because to awaken the Rinnegan, one needs to have both the Senju DNA and the Uhicha DNA. But Danzo only had the Senju DNA which he got by infusing Hashirama's cells.  
> **username_3** (2013-11-27): Very true!! :)
I should've mentioned that also!  
---
