Close, and freedom is certainly part of it, but I thought it was more about taking a good look at the world around you and realizing you do not have to follow everybody else's rules. Other people kept telling them how to live, who they were, that things were impossible. Luffy's job originally was to do literally physically impossible things like it was the easiest thing in the world to show them. So Zorro and Nami and Colby and the Marines were all freaked out when they saw him, having only heard vaguely about devil fruit powers and guys like Gold Roger, while the rules kept them under the thumb of people like Alveda, Arlong, Morgan and whoever. Then they started adding other people, most of whom abused their power, to contrast these guys once the point was made. After that the impossible people with powers became common place.
What happened to the treasure being in "one piece"?