luffy’s development is basically about freedom. with gear 5, luffy has become a rubber hose character coming from old animation (30s) This means that he now has the power and the freedom to change his body and the environment around him into what he wants, and this is necessarily linked with the gum properties of his body (malleability and elasticity). If you think about it, this is quite a typical awakening, despite being more broken and ridiculous (literally, it’s so goofy).
looking back at what oda and luffy meant with freedom, we can claim that rubber properties mean that luffy cannot stand the “limits” of his same human body. The awakening means that he’s fully aware of his freedom and can spread it in the world, changing the environment. This is why he’s the warrior of liberation.
I think that gomu gomu being hito hito suggests that freedom is a human thing, and the same will of the fruit is not that of being kept captive by the WG. I personally love the concept and the design of awakening/gear 5.
If you want more info, look at rubber hose animation videos on yt