From 1572 onward, an army corps led by Nobutada ODA, Tsuneoki IKEDA, Nagayoshi MORI (Naritoshi MORI's elder brother) and Hidetaka KAWAJIRI, which was known as Nobutada's corps (Tsuneoki IKEDA later withdrew from the corps and moved to Settsu Province), was fighting against the Takeda clan in order to prevent the expansion of Takeda's territory into the eastern Mino Province.
天正元年（1572年）以降、織田信忠を筆頭に池田恒興、森長可（森成利の兄）、河尻秀隆らを主力とする、いわゆる「信忠軍団」が編成されており（池田は後に軍団を離脱→摂津へ）、主に、東美濃に勢力を張っていた武田の影響を排除する戦いをしていた。