What happens if a Devil Fruit is destroyed?


We know that if a Devil Fruit user dies, their fruit reappears (see [In One
Piece, does a Devil Fruit reappear after the user
dies?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/2979/24)). However, this doesn't
answer the question of what happens when the fruit gets destroyed without
being eaten. I don't know if that's even possible, but I imagine so with
sufficient effort.

If a devil fruit is destroyed, would the fruit reincarnate in a nearby fruit
(the same as when the user dies), or would it be destroyed for good?




I don't think you can separate destroyed and _being eaten_ , eating a devil
fruit in One Piece pretty much
[_destroys_](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/932/1528) it. So destruction by
power, physical force and or being eaten could be considered as being the
same.

That being said, I would think the same thing would happen in any instance of
it being _'destroyed'_ , it will _'respawn'_ and take on the form of it's
closest _'relative'_.

