What political power does a Kage have?

Question

I know that, in Naruto, Kages (such as the Hokage) run the hidden villages (such as Konoha). There are, however, also other people in the world with political powers, such as feudal lords. What political power does a Kage have as opposed to one of the other political leaders in the world? To further that question, where in the hierarchy of all of the political people in the world do they fall? To clarify, do they answer to anybody or command any other political leaders, and if so, in what regards?

Answer 1

The term "Kage" is not used to just refer to any leader of any village it's only for the leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. Their responsibilities include:

• To oversee the ninja activity in the village.
• To prepare and send ninjas to the active missions.
• Organize the ninja promotion exams (chuunin exam).
• Manage the rewards of the mission and distribute it as a payment for the ninjas.

A village is ruled by 2 political and 1 military power. You have the Feudal Lords, the Elders and the Kage. The Kage, before taking any big decisions that will involve the entire village (activities not only ninja-related), for example safety issues (What to do with Naruto), have to discuss it with the Feudal Lords and the Elders. In other words, the Kage is the biggest title a ninja can get, but regarding the administration of the village, it has to be discussed with the Elders and of course the owners of the land and possibly of the economy: the Feudal Lords.