Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-24886865-20171120055248/@comment-734582-20171122083220

Nerosmoke wrote: the title of Kage means the strongest. It doesn't. The Kage is the one acknowledged by the village. That doesn't mean they have to be the strongest, although strong people obviously can more easily become acknowledged.

Secondly, the first era of Kage was indeed implied to be the strongest, although this is because they were forged in an era of permanent strife. If they weren't the strongest, they would never have survived.