Which is why Naoi needed to make himself appear indispensible. By witholding information and giving useful information little by little— oh, we're getting nowhere.

"How single-minded." Slight annoyance. "This is all the waste for this district. You won't have much luck rooting through it by hand the way you're doing."

"Even if you acquire something that will provide the necessary power, there will doubtlessly be safeguards to prevent it from reaching its full capacity. What do you seek to return to so desperately?"

The indirect approach is getting him nowhere, so he's going to pry.