Upon their return to Upolu, Lauaki and some of the Chiefs were betrayed at this "peace talk", held aboard the German ship. In 1909, Lauaki and the other senior leaders of the "Mau a Pule" were exiled to the German colonies in the Marianas (North West Pacific) where they were to stay until 1914, when New Zealand took over Samoa as part of its Empire duties at the outbreak of World War I. Many of those exiled died before returning to Samoa. Lauaki died en route back to Samoa in 1915.