 After losing a battle on the border of Saga and Fukuoka on February 22, Eto decided that further resistance would only result in needless deaths, and disbanded his army.Etō told his followers that he intended to escape to Kagoshima to obtain help from Saigō Takamori and his Satsuma "samurai".If Saigō refused, he intended to go to Tosa, and if Tosa likewise refused, he would make his way to Tokyo to commit "seppuku."