How to remove a block itself near another specific block

/fill x1 y1 z1 x2 y2 z2 air 0 replace chest

Replace the x1-z2 arguments with actual coordinates that describe the diagonal of the volume you're checking.

The only way I know how to do this is with either commands, or a headless piston. You can use TNT too, but that would destroy the piston, and you probably don’t want that.