It is said that Saigo also hated Okuma as a 'snobbish public servant,' and in 'The Written Opinions of Kuranosuke SAIGO,' which he wrote before coming to Tokyo in 1871, although he did not directly mention him by name, he criticized Okuma's policy as one which was 'not the policy of warriors,' and then Yasukazu YASUBA, who entered the Ministry of Finance the same year with the recommendation of Saigo, submitted a written proposal for the impeachment of Okuma (which was rejected because both Saigo and Okubo opposed it.), making Okuma's antipathy towards Saigo much stronger.
一方、西郷も大隈を「俗吏」とみなして嫌っていたとされ、特に明治4年（1871年）の西郷上京の際に書かれた「西郷吉之助意見書」では名指しこそ避けたものの大隈の政策を「武士のやること」ではないと切捨て、更に同年に西郷の推挙で大蔵省入りした安場保和が大隈への弾劾意見書を提出したこと（西郷も大久保もこれには反対したために却下された）によって、大隈の西郷への反感は抜きがたいものになったとされる。