Ka pakanga anō ki Taranaki i te tau 1863, nā tana whakaroaroa tonu ki te whakahoki i a Waitara ki te hunga nō rātou ake aua whenua. Ka hinga i a ia a Taranaki, ka tahuri a Kerei ki a Waikato, ki te takiwā e nui ana te kino ki te hoko whenua, ki te pūtake o te Kīngitanga. Ka whakatūria a Kerei tana whakapae, kei te whakaaro ngā iwi o Waikato me Maniapoto ki te huaki i a Tāmaki-makau-rau; koia rā te take a Kerei mō te riri ki Waikato. Ka mau tonu te tautohetohe ki ēnei rā mō te tika, te hē rānei o ēnei kōrero, nā Kerei i whakamōmona ngā kōrero. Ahakoa he kaha rawa rātou ki te whawhai, ka peia i ō rātou whenua te Kīngi Māori me tōna iwi.