I don't know why people in this comment section think they won't show Japanese atrocities when they are already covering the Kwantung Army torturing Chinese civilians and selling drugs in the first two chapters.
Ravages of Time and Souten Kouro also had buff Dong Zhuos. Would probably make more sense for him to be buff or at least strongfat since he was the general of the roughest fighters in the Han Empire then.
Wish this chapter was released yesterday, November 20 is when Zumbi was executed and is the Black Consciousness Day in Brazil so it would be a nice homage
The change was probably more of a move to "redeem" the character of Massinissa than the author's politics. The idea of killing your own wife to prevent her from being humiliated is something that would be lauded as a righteous action in that age but wouldn't fly around in the modern era.
btw if you want to read another manga about the Night Witches (the soviet all-female pilot squadron), there is this other manga about them, featuring even some familiar faces like the ace Lilya and the commander Marina
https://mangadex.org/title/34746/shirayuri-wa-ake-ni-somaranai