Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-26636534-20171019193715/@comment-26636534-20180115135500

^Yes they do. Kages have the final decision to make, they can have advisors, but at the end of the day, what they decide goes. The Nara clan only fall under Konoha and the Hokage. I'm talking about all kage. Also, Nara clan advisors only seem to be a recent thing. Assuming Shikaku to be the first of these. Due to his age, we know that Hiruzen was already Hokage before Shikaku was even a shinobi, therefore already running the village.

Minato's reign was too short to really dissect. I don't recall Tsunade ever needing permission from the Jonin council or the elders to do something, nevertheless, that is neither here nor there.

P.S. No kage (Except Naruto maybe) can run a village all by themselves, so obviously they need to delegate and entrust others with leadership positions. Certainly the individual that assumes such a responsibility needs exceptional intelligence.