"I do have experience and knowledge on my side." He won't deny that.

It's been months. Months of travel, investigation, fighting... Changes, both physically and internally.

For Ren, it's only been a little over a month. For Akechi, it's been so much more.

"But that's a significant exercise in trust." Which means that Ren trusts him to take leadership seriously, when he could so very easily abuse such authority.

He won't, but he could. He's already blackmailed Ren and his friends before, to say nothing of the betrayal.